Enamored 4: The Queen's Jewel
by LenainNeverland
Summary: After reconnecting with the love of her life, Lena begins a whole new adventure with an added responsibility. Throw this in with a scheme for the throne, some new tricks up her sleeve and a very dangerous necklace, Lena must assemble her team of confidants to help guide her in ruling her race and avoiding the temptation of her dark side.
1. Chapter 1 - Dealing in Secrets

**Chapter 1**

I move my lips to his cheek to place a soft kiss. I feel his fingers run gently along my back as he stands at my side.

"You must come visit me again." He says in a low voice in my ear. I move my hands to his arm to hold him close. He places a kiss on my forehead and I smile up at him.

"I would never disappoint your highness." I say jokingly, bowing my head slightly.

"Give my best wishes to your family." He says. I nod to him and look to one side of the airport lounge to notice William walking in our direction. He raises his hand and points to his watch so I give the prince at my side one last squeeze on his arm before removing my hands. Just as I move my hands away from him he quickly reaches out and takes them.

"Please consider my offer." He says, a genuine look in his eyes.

"I will, Elias." I say with a smile. He releases my hands and I smooth them over my black dress. William is now at my side and he picks up my carry-on luggage which holds my newly acquired clothes and jewellery. As soon as I turn around and my face is no longer in view I slide on my sunglasses and allow my forced smile to fade away. William hands me the mobile phone in his hand and I move it to my ear, knowing that the Elders will already be on the line waiting for me.

"I'm here. I just finished with the Lindström's son." I say, following William as I walk.

"Is there any other information you could gather in your last week?" The voice on the phone asks.

"What I passed along was everything I could get from the son, can I please just come home to celebrate my aunt's life with my family?" I ask.

"The most important thing right now is ensuring the future of our company. The funeral isn't for another week so if you can gather more from the son it's your duty as princess to do so." The voice on the phone says.

"My duty is to be with my family, soif you plan to stop me from coming to the funeral you're welcome to try." I say sternly before hanging up and handing the phone off to William. He smiles at me and moves his hand to the small of my back as we walk. I move his hand off of me quickly,

"Despite the popular opinion of the men around me, I _can_ actually walk without assistance." I say, with a tone of annoyance. I slide my jacket off and fold it over my arm as I walk. We move down the hallway to enter the exclusive section of the plane and William remains close by my side.

"I suppose our night together was only a one-time thing, then?" He asks in a low voice. I take my sunglasses off and stop walking to face him.

"I told you to stop mentioning that!" I say angrily. I try to keep my voice low but some people in suits look at us as they walk past. "Cassiopeia had just died and we were both grieving, it was a mistake." William takes my elbow firmly and he responds.

"Mistake or not you have to admit that it was unforgettable." He says.

"Take your hand off of me." I warn him. We're close enough to the plane for two stewardesses to look our way with wide eyes.

"Put your sunglasses back on." He says, letting me go. I look away from the women, so they can't notice my black irises, before sliding on my glasses.

"Will you just admit that you have feelings for me?" He asks. I turn away from him and walk off towards the plane. The women smile to me so I give them my fake smile in return and continue on to where they pointed out my seat. I take my seat and bring my phone out of my handbag, looking to my messages. William's seat is beside mine but there's a fair space between them due to it being business class. I fold open my magazine and recline my seat, feeling William's eyes on me every now and then.

When the plane lands I walk beside William and we both remain silent. William answers his phone as we walk through the exclusive lounge and into the main terminal. William gestures for me to stop so I begin to pay attention to his phone call.

"Wait, so you're here? At the airport?" He asks with confusion. He looks over my shoulder and raises his eyebrows at something. I turn around to see Emmeline standing there with a Nyx either side of her. She's wearing a slimming white dress and has her hair in a classy up-do. Around her neck hangs a beautiful pink jewel. She hands her phone off to one of the Nyx before fluttering her fingers in our direction. I glance back at William before walking over to her.

"Isn't this a happy coincidence?" She says in her usual displeased tone. She slides her sunglasses off her face and I notice that she looks like she's been crying, she's also tried very hard to hide it. I sigh and step forward to pull her into a hug. She pauses and I feel her stiffen as I move my arms around her but she doesn't reject my embrace. After a moment I pull my arms away and move them back to my sides.

"What do you mean coincidence? I thought you were here to pick us up." I say, raising an eyebrow.

"You're not the only one with duties, Lena, I'm a princess too- I had to do my part for our family." She says, sliding her sunglasses back on. She turns around to walk and I fall in step beside her. The rest of the men move in appropriate positions behind us and at our sides.

"I just thought you would have preferred to stay in Linmoor." I say.

"Of course I would. But the decision wasn't up to me." She says without emotion. I nod in understanding.

"That's a nice necklace by the way." I nod to it. The pink jewel catches the sun's shine and I have to pull my glasses over my face; I look beyond Emmeline to the window outside to see the setting sun. As soon as I mention the necklace Emmeline moves her fingers to it and the side of her lip curls up in a smile.

"Oh this little trinket? I got it in Saudi Arabia. The man who gave it to me called it the Queen's Jewel." She says.

"It must have been hard for him to part with." I can't help but feel envious of the necklace, my time spent in luxury has caused me to gain appreciation for superficial things.

"It was, however, I'm a very good negotiator." She says. I smirk at her comment and we walk to the area to get our bags before leaving the airport. A black limousine pulls up at the road and one of the Nyx who came with Emmeline gestures for her to get in it. He opens the door for her and she walks ahead to stand by the door.

"I'll see you at the mountain." I say, sliding my jacket on. Emmeline pauses before getting in and turns to look at me.

"I suppose it's easier if you join me." She shrugs, before sliding into the back. I glance to William, who has raised eyebrows. I'm not sure if I'll enjoy spending a long car trip with Emmeline. I sigh and nod to William before walking ahead to get into the limousine. Our luggage is placed in the back and William gets in the passenger seat beside the driver. By the time I place my handbag next to me on the leather seat Emmeline has already opened a bottle of alcohol. She offers me a drink with gin and I accept with gratitude. The limousine begins to move and I let my hair out and slide my high-heels off.

"You know, I've been thinking of going to college." I say, taking a sip of my drink. Emmeline widens her eyes as she looks at me.

"You're kidding." She says.

"I'm twenty. It's what people my age do." I shrug.

"You're a Veela princess, you're not like other people. What would you even study?" She asks.

"I'm not sure... maybe law or politics. I'd have to look around and see what suits me." I sip from my drink. Emmeline looks back out the window as she considers what I've said.

"Haven't you ever thought about it?" I ask her and she looks back at me.

"No. It seems like a waste of time."

"Well how do you suppose a queen learns to do what she does? Law and politics would come in handy."

"I've already been raised to know what to do as queen. I don't need some diploma to tell me otherwise." She seems to say it with annoyance and she quickly finishes her drink.

"It was just a question." I shrug, looking out the window. After a moment I continue, "You don't ever feel unfulfilled? You're only in your early twenties as well, how do you know you want to do this your whole life?" I ask.

"If by 'this' you mean having drivers and maids and getting expensive gifts then I can honestly say that I would rather nothing else. Also, unless you've miraculously won the praise of the elders in the last year, keep in mind that I do have a plan and that's to be the next matriarch of the aerie." I roll my eyes and raise my hands in defence.

"Sorry, I won't bring it up again." I lean back against the seat and bring my already-read magazine out of my bag with a sigh. Emmeline watches me and reaches into her bag with a different magazine. I look up at her and she glances down at mine.

"Swap?" I ask, closing the cover and leaning over to offer it to her. She takes it and hands me hers, flipping open the page and beginning to read. I grin at the thought of having new reading material and we spend the next hour in silence as we read. Eventually Emmeline gets a phone call and I pretend to ignore her.

"Well hello, you." She says in a flirty tone. I widen my eyes and look over at her. Her eyes meet mine and she narrows them at me. We both pivot on our seats slightly to face away from each other and Emmeline continues.

"Have you been thinking about me?" She asks with a giggle. "Yeah, I bet you do you naughty man." This statement causes me to almost choke on my drink. Emmeline glares at me again and I can't hold back my laughter. She kicks at my feet as she talks.

"Yes, sorry. I'm sharing a car with my cousin and she's laughing at something childish." She says. I calm myself down and open up my magazine again with a large grin on my face.

"Of course I'm in the limo. Though, I have to say, it's not as nice as your Ferrari." She says in her flirty voice. I roll my eyes and Emmeline continues to glare at me.

"Okay darling, I'll speak with you soon. Good bye." She says, hanging up. "You are so immature!" She says to me.

"Who's your 'naughty' man, Emmeline? Someone rich, I assume?" I ask, keeping my grin.

"None of your business." She folds open her magazine in frustration.

"Oh come on, I never had a sister. You should be able to share with your family." I say in a dragging tone.

"He's a suitor I met and we've been seeing each other- there. And you can't use that excuse because you still have your old memories of your twin, Veronica; or something."

"It was Violet and she wasn't my real sister, remember? The witches put me with that family after they took me from Arabella and my father."

"Then they died and you were put in that orphanage where Pan found you, I've heard the whole story; please don't repeat it." She rolls her eyes. I go to continue talking but my eye catches something odd outside Emmeline's window. The first thing I understand of it is the tinted windscreen and the hood of the car. I then piece together that this car is faced our way and is coming towards us at a very high speed.

"Emmeline!" I shriek, reaching for her arm and yanking her towards me. Just as I do the car connects with her window and then bulldozes through to the seat where Emmeline was sat. Her blonde hair comes in a wave in front of my face and our eyes meet in a brief moment of panic. The limousine begins to spin out of control and I feel it being lifted from the road as everything begins to move very slowly. My body moves from my seat and Emmeline's grip on my arm turns to a searing pain as her talons have begun to erupt from her fingers. A glass of gin flies past my face and my shoe moves past my head at my side. I blink my eyes shut and everything speeds up and then goes completely black.


	2. Chapter 2 - Youssof's Men

**Chapter 2**

As I lie motionless in the wreckage I'm reminded of the nightmares I would always have in the orphanage. The smell of petrol and smoke is the same, as is the feeling of pain that's running all through my body. I glance over to a heavy breathing at my side to see a pile of feathers and grey skin. Emmeline has taken her harpy form and is curled up in pain. I turn my head to my other side in search of my bag and reach over for it. Pain shoots through me but I ignore it in order to pull out one of the only unbroken vials in there. As I move I feel broken glass shift beneath me. Someone's voice is calling out for us and some nearby shrapnel is being pulled from what's left of the limousine.

"Emmeline." I say, dragging my body toward her. I grip onto a grey limb and pull her towards me. Her whole body rolls over and her wing falls down to cover me like a blanket. She jerks and I feel her hand move to my face. We're facing each other now and so when she flicks her jet black eyes open, it startles me. I uncap the vial and bring it up to her mouth.

"Lena? Answer me!" I hear a panicked William call. Emmeline's talons dig into my cheeks as she grows conscious and aggressive. I shove the vial into her mouth and force the liquid down her throat. I feel her hand get incredibly hot on my skin and some beads of sweat join the blood in rolling down my face. She responds to the potion by spluttering and coughing but she does release me. When she begins to transform back into her human form I jump to attention. I hear more male voices calling out and then even some gunshots. When I look around I realise that the limousine has been flipped and Emmeline and I are lying on the roof. The broken window glass is all around us and some torn leather from the seats is hanging overhead. The smell of petrol gets worse and I know right now I need to get out of here. I grab some of the hanging leather strips and rip them from the seat, wrapping the material around my fist. I then use my protected fist to punch through the rest of the glass on the window near my head so it won't cut me when I climb through. I drag my body out of the limousine before reaching back in to pull Emmeline out. It's tough to move with all the pain going through me and I'm in luck when William appears at my side to help.

"Are you alright?" He asks at my side, one of his arms around my back protectively. We manage to drag Emmeline out of the car and she mumbles feebly in our arms. Some loud bangs hit the metal near us and it causes me to jump back slightly. I look over at William and suddenly a gun is in his hand.

"What happened? What's going on?" I ask, reaching into the car to grab my bag. I pull out the small gun that William got me and take the safety off.

"It's a group of men, I don't recognise them but my guess is that they're after Emmeline." William says, moving to get a vantage point on our attackers. He fires a few shots and I look down at Emmeline, who's slowly blinking her eyes open.

"Emmeline? Get up, we have to move." I say, moving to help her sit up. I hear footsteps at our right and a man with a gun looks in our direction. He aims his gun toward us but is stopped when he's hit in the chest by a bullet. I look over to where the bullet came from to see William already reloading his gun. The limousine makes a strange noise and in the distance I hear sirens.

"Time to go." William says. Emmeline is still looking around in a daze and I notice her clutching onto her necklace nervously. I rock to my feet and encourage Emmeline to do the same. We hurry around to the side of the car where bullets greet us again. I take aim in the direction of our attackers and fire a few shots in their direction; William does the same. A familiar black car speeds through our line of fire and the back door is opened to us. William grabs my arm and pulls me to get into the car while I do the same to Emmeline. The car takes off before the door is even shut behind us and we continue to duck low. I hear a loud explosion behind us and feel a heat hit the air. I smell smoke and sit up from my position to see the limousine now enveloped in flames.

"Lucius, the girls need first aid and those men might follow us to the hospital, do you know anywhere we can go?" William asks the driver. I look up to see two brunette men in the front talking amongst themselves- they're the Nyx who were with Emmeline.

"I don't know anyone outside of Linmoor- it's only three more hours, can they make it until then?" Lucius asks.

"That's fine, just get us out of here." I say.

"No, it's not. Lena, you're running on adreneline- soon you'll go into shock and if that doesn't kill you, your wounds will." When William says this he wipes the blood off my face with his sleeve.

"I'll make some calls." The man in the passenger seat says. I look to Emmeline at my side who's sitting silently while staring out the window.

"Emmeline?" I place my hand on her shoulder.

"Where are we?" She asks, still dazed.

"She's in shock, let her lie down." William says, leaning over me to lean the seat back. William removes his suit jacket and unbuttons his shirt. He rips pieces off of it to secure over the places where Emmeline is bleeding and he moves her feet up so they're elevated. I watch him as he sees to her and I feel my heart beat slowly return to a normal pace. Once William is done checking Emmeline's pulse and breathing he puts his jacket over my shoulders and keeps his arm around me. Part of me rings with alarm bells, telling me that I shouldn't encourage this kind of intimate behaviour, but the drowsy, nauseous feeling that's setting in tells me to ignore it.

The car pulls into a long driveway and we stop at a commercial-looking building that's tucked behind a wall of trees and shrubbery. I try to look for a sign to the building but am unable to locate any. Some people walk out of the building and a man with a white coat leans over Emmeline to shine a light into her eyes. Everyone around me is talking but my ears can't seem to make out what they're saying. The man in the white coat then shines a light in my eyes and I feel hands move around my arms before I'm lifted. The rest of the scene fades around me and I wake up on a bed some time later with all of these previous events being a blurred memory at the back of my mind. William is sat at my side with a new white shirt on and Emmeline is lying on a bed near me. The room we're in has all the equipment of a hospital but something tells me it's owned by a private company.

"How do you feel?" William's voice rings at my side. I look down to by body to see that I'm wearing a cotton hospital dress-like item and some tubes are running from my arms to a machine.

"Um..." I blink, trying to organise my thoughts. "I want these out of me." I say, moving to sit up.

"Okay, take it easy." He says, helping me sit up. The man in the white coat comes into to the room with a clipboard and a needle with a bright purple substance in it.

"I thought you would wake up first." He says, moving the needle to the end of one of my tubes. I grab his wrist in panic and narrow my eyes at him.

"Lena, it's a potion to help you heal- let him go." William says. The doctor raises an eyebrow from behind his glasses and I release him, allowing him to inject me with the potion.

"Is Em okay?" I ask, looking over at my cousin.

"The other Veela will be fine, just like you. It's good you got here when you did, though. You had significant trauma to your back- I'm surprised you were able to get up out of that wreckage. And her," The doctor pauses to nod to Emmeline. "If she hadn't have gone harpy her frail body wouldn't have been able to handle that damage." He finishes, bringing a similar needle from his pocket out to inject into Emmeline. As soon as he does she blinks her eyes open and sits up quickly. William walks over to her to calm her down and she thrashes about, clawing at her chest in a panic.

"Where is it!?" She shouts, throwing the blanket off of her and jumping out of the bed.

"Em, calm down. Where's what?" William asks, stepping back from her.

"The necklace! Where's my necklace? Did you take it?" As she asks this she grabs the doctor and pushes him against some nearby cabinets forcefully. William moves his arms around her and pulls her off the doctor who is already calmly retrieving yet another needle from his pocket. He stabs the needle towards her and it lands in her arm. He presses down on the needle end and she goes weak in William's arms. William moves her back to the bed and she sits on it calmly. In this time I have already gotten out of the bed and hurried towards them.

"Beth?" The doctor calls out, prompting a girl my age to walk into the room with wide eyes.

"Is everything alright, sir?" She asks, moving her eyes to William and Emmeline. When her eyes fall on William her mouth gapes open slightly and she pauses in her steps. She then moves her eyes over to study Emmeline and I.

"Yes. Would you please fetch the box with our customer's possessions?" He asks her. She takes another glance at William before scurrying out of the room. The box she returns with is filled with dirty clothes that smell of smoke. She hands the box to me and I set it down on the bed next to Emmeline; Who then furiously digs through it to retrieve her pink diamond necklace. Her expressions softens with relief as her fingers curl around it and she clutches it close to her chest.

"Em, who were those men? Why were they after you?" I ask her with seriousness. She looks up at the doctor with distrust on her face. The doctor then nods and heads for the door.

"You can have ten minutes before I need my clinic back. Don't worry about the bill, your men have already paid me." He says over his shoulder.

"They must have been Youssof's men... He's the prince I met in Saudi Arabia." She says, a slight look of guilt on her face. I raise an eyebrow and tilt my head, observing the jewellery that she has clutched to her chest. I then sigh in realisation.

"You stole that, didn't you?" As I ask I can't hide the annoyance from my tone.

"Oh for god's sake, Emmeline." William says, reaching for the necklace.

"Stop!" She shrieks, hitting his hand away. William widens his eyes at her and she shakes her head.

"I didn't think he would care about it that much, but clearly he's willing to kill me for it. I'm not giving it to you if keeping it could mean my safety." She says.

"Emmeline, why did you take it in the first place?" I ask. Her eyes move to mine.

"It's worth over eighty million dollars, that's why." She says sternly.

"I can't believe this, Em- we _have_ money. You don't need to steal the jewels off royal people to get it." William says.

"Have you _seen _this necklace?" She asks. "Not only is it pretty, it's my insurance for a good future. If I don't become queen then at least I know I won't be left poor." I open my mouth to respond but am interrupted when the two Nyx come into the room quickly.

"We need to move, we're only safe once we reach Linmoor." Lucius says. I look back at Emmeline who puts the necklace back on and hides the diamond behind the material of her dress. One of the Nyx hands me some green hospital scrubs and I'm instructed to wear them.

"They're the only clothes they had." He says.

After Emmeline and I change we meet the men at the front desk of the clinic. The doctor walks up to us and hands Emmeline and I a tub of blue cream.

"This is for the scars." He says with a nod.

"Scars?!" Emmeline shrieks, looking at William and I. "I can't have scars! Are they on my face?" She adds. I nod after taking in the sight of the grazes on her chin and forehead.

"I have to find a mirror." She says with worry, hurrying off down a hallway. I shake my head after her but it becomes apparent to me that my face must also be unsightly. I walk to the front glass window and catch a slight glimpse of my reflection. It's not very clear and I can only see half of my face so I turn to William.

"Are mine bad?" I ask him, my hands on my cheeks.

"You're still beautiful." He says, stepping toward me. I hold out my hands to stop him from coming closer.

"William-" I begin, cut off when he takes my hands in his.

"Please." He says with uneasiness on his face. I pause and he moves his lips to mine softly. I feel the tension in my shoulders fade away and wait for a face to appear in my mind. When I slept with William that night I was thinking of the intimacy I felt when Peter and I danced in my room at Flitwick mountain. I was also thinking of the excitement of when Felix kissed me at that waterfall on Neverland. But right now there are no other moments and no other men. There's just the silence and William. We stay in this moment and kiss each other softly before I open my eyes. William keeps his closed as rests his forehead against mine. I catch a glimpse of blonde over his shoulder to see Emmeline staring at us with confusion on her face. I step away from William and open my mouth to speak- to excuse my actions and to explain why this happened. But when I try to begin the words fail me and Emmeline walks past us quickly to the honking car outside.


	3. Chapter 3 - Maddalena

**Chapter 3**

The rest of the car trip is long and awkward and I feel Emmeline's judging eyes fall on me every half hour. Luckily one of the Nyx have managed to organise a helicopter to come and pick us up so the trip can be shortened and we can get to safety of Flitwick mountain. Our day-long trip ends when I walk through the archway to the courtyard of the estate. The scene is just how I remember it when I last left. There are no dancing, laughing women and no music is playing. The brightly coloured materials that draped along the pillars and seats have been taken away and replaced with black material. It's silent enough for the sound of my shoes meeting the stone pavement to be the loudest in the area. Two Nyx and a Veela are sitting around the foyer and they nod to us solemnly as we arrive. They inform us that everyone else is sat down for dinner so we continue on to the dining room. There's so many people in the dining room and our entrance goes mainly unnoticed; the person that does notice us, though, is one of the Elders whose sat at the head of the table. He gestures for Emmeline and I to come over to speak with him and the people in the seats closest to him move seats quickly and diligently. I take my seat and the man raises his eyebrow upon a close inspection of our faces.

"I heard you ran into trouble on the way. Be sure to have those looked at by our healers." He says with a nod to our scars.

"My mother isn't even in the ground yet and you think it's fine to take her place at her table?" Emmeline snaps at him. I widen my eyes at her and so does the elder.

"Watch your tongue, Emmeline Renessa Flitwick. While the next matriarch is being decided upon the Elders have dominion in this Aerie." He warns sternly.

"I think Emmeline is just tired from the trip... I know I am." I say, keeping my eyes on Emmeline steadily.

"You may rest later. First, you should eat and attempt to comfort your kin. We will discuss your punishment for stealing that jewel later." He says, continuing to eat his meal. Emmeline scoffs and stands from her chair dramatically. She stares down at the Elder and I before flicking her hair over her shoulder and storming out of the room. I watch her go as someone places a plate of food down in front of me. The meal is comprised of a thick steak with gravy and plenty of vegetables off to the side. I roll my eyes at her behaviour and drink down a glass of nearby alcohol quickly and completely.

"It looks like it's just you. Pay special attention to the younger ones; Cassiopeia had a certain soothing way with words when it came to speaking with them. As did your mother, perhaps you inherited it. Emmeline clearly didn't." He says with a grunt. I poke at my food and lean my sore, weary frame back against my chair. My drink is refilled and I take quick gulps, allowing it to dull my stressed mind.

"Since we're on the subject... I was hoping I could speak with you about her- about my mother." I say, still poking at my food with my fork.

"What would you like to know?" He asks, his eyes staying on his food.

"Cassiopeia said that no one knew who my father was... but then I found this in a box of my mother's things." I reach into my handbag and bring out the locket I've been holding onto. I open the heart to look at Zilocke's face within it. "I showed this to Cassiopeia but she was far too sick to understand me, she couldn't give me any information." I add, handing the locket to him. He takes it in his free hand and peers over at it, pausing for a moment.

"Where did you say this was?" He asks.

"It was in a box with my mother's things." I say slowly. "That man is Zilocke, isn't it? That powerful wizard?"

"We call them warlocks, Maddalena." He says, closing the locket and keeping it in his hand.

"Well, okay but- Wait. What did you call me?" I widen my eyes.

"Maddalena. That's your name." He says, continuing to eat his meal.

"Maddalena- seriously? How did you know that?" I lean forward on my chair.

"Perhaps it's time you and I took a walk." He says, finally placing down his knife and fork. He stands from his seat and as soon as he does everyone else stops eating and moves their eyes on him.

"Please continue eating, once dinner concludes we will begin our festivities to celebrate Matriarch Cassiopeia's life as usual." He doesn't seem to out much effort into it but his voice bellows through the whole dining hall. As soon as he finishes speaking everyone goes back to their dim chatter and eating. I finish my drink and begin to get up. The alcohol seems to have affected me quickly as I slightly stumble when I hurry out of my seat. I fall in step at the Elder's side; Once we leave the dining hall he continues.

"As Matriarch your mother typically wasn't permitted to keep secrets. Everything had to go through us, including her choice of suitor. Though, when she was younger, and her mother was the sovereign, her love life wasn't as closely watched and a few undesirables managed to slip through the cracks and get close to her. Some of these men were dangerous and reckless and they put a great strain on Arabella's relationship with your grandmother. That's why they were quickly ejected from her life for her own good." He opens the locket again and shows me the picture of Zilocke. "Zilocke was one of those men. That's why she has his picture, I would assume." He hands the locket back to me.

"Oh." I say, looking to the picture with a sigh. "So then he's not my father?" I ask, looking at the man.

"Before your mother died she was introduced to a suitor we had picked out for her and they grew fond of each other. Arabella fell pregnant and the two chose to elope and marry quickly so she would not be shamed for having a child out of wedlock. On their journey they were captured by witches and after you were born they were killed." He says, adding, "I know your full name because Arabella told me it's what she planned to call you. Maddalena, I am sorry you had to find out about your father this way." I bite my lip and consider this.

"Alright, but Cassiopeia said that Arabella left on official business... she said no one knew who my father was but my mother said he was the most powerful person she's ever met. And now you're telling me he was just some ordinary Nyx who got her pregnant?" I fold my arms.

"What I'm saying is true. At the time not everyone was told why Arabella left because the thought of losing both the queen and the heir would be too painful." He says.

"Too painful? Cassiopeia was her sister... she deserved to know and you didn't even tell her when she asked as your queen?" I furrow my eyebrows, I can't ignore the feeling that this doesn't add up. The Elder sighs as he pauses.

"We Elders decide what's best for our race. Cassiopeia didn't need to know the truth, she just needed to be groomed to be matriarch." He pauses again. "Now, that brings me to some things I want to say. First, how do you know of Zilocke?"

"I met him when I had a run in with Li Gao's witch coven. He intervened at the court- he saved me." I place the locket in my bag and look to the floor. I'm too tired and drunk to stay awake much longer.

"A court you wouldn't have been at if you didn't foolishly chase after that pesky boy- Pan." He says with a tone of annoyance.

"Peter is my friend, I care about him." I say, meeting his eyes again.

"Maddalena, you might be the high queen one day... one would think you would learn from your mother's mistakes and stay away from witch covens and troublesome boys. You would be better off if you married someone proper, like Aetius."

"Okay, stop calling me that and also where the hell did that last part come from?" I groan, taking a step away from him tiredly. "And don't lecture me on my suitors, the Elders should have been more careful when you sent me off to live with Gao in the first place. It's his fault I was put in harm's way, not Peter's." I shake my head, adding. "And I think I'm done with this conversation now." I say, turning to walk away.

"Don't walk away from me, young lady." He says, walking after me and gripping onto my arm firmly.

"Get off of me." I say, pulling my arm from his hand roughly and stumbling slightly. Inwardly I'm screaming in frustration. I just want to go to bed and have everyone leave me alone. Also why is all this parenting stuff coming now and from one of the Elders who I've only just met?

"The Elders wish for you to stop seeing that boy." He says, straightening his posture.

"Okay first of all, I'm pretty sure he's like over one hundred years old; which is older than you. Ergo, he's not a _boy_. And second, even when and if I become queen I still won't allow you to decide who to 'eject' from my life like you did with my mother. I read the letters, she _loved_ Zilocke. And frankly, that infuriating boyfriend-stealing man has done more to protect and help me than any of the Elders ever have." When I finish the Elder simply blinks at me in confusion. I'm not sure when he got lost in my rant as I wasn't really looking at him but I feel like I'm not quite done yet. "I love Peter and when he comes to the funeral I'm gong to tell him that." I shake my head. "I might also tell Felix that I love him too- but only because it's true on both accounts. What's also true is that no matter how attracted to him I am and no matter how 'proper' you say William is- I will never love him like I love Peter." I finish my rubbing my tired eyes.

"Speaking of..." The Elder says slowly. I look up at him before turning around to see who he's looking at. William is stood with his hands in his pockets and looking at me with a blank expression.

"Oh for god's sake, _of course_ you come in when I say that part." I shake my head, beginning to head for the bedroom hall.

"Actually I was here for the whole thing." He says, his tone unrecognisable to my inebriated mind.

"See that she's put into bed safely, Aetius." The Elder calls from behind me. I bring up my hand and flip him off but I don't hear a reaction from him. William places a hand on my arm to guide me to my room.

"So you're attracted to me, hmm?" He asks, a tone of amusement in his voice.

"I'm not in the mood, William. I just want everyone to stop wanting me so I can figure out who _I_ want." I say in a defeated tone. I sigh and add, "I'm sorry for what I said." We stop in front of a bedroom door and William opens it and leads me in. I recognise the room to be the one I stayed in last time and when my eyes fall on the bed I pause. I instantly get flashbacks to when I had to leave Peter the morning after our night of dancing and music and love. I feel an unwelcome tear roll down my cheek.

"Lena I know you probably won't remember this in the morning, but I want to apologise for how I've acted around you." He says as I kick off my shoes and bury myself under the blankets of the bed. I swivel around to look up at him.

"What?" I ask.

"I know I can be a real ass sometimes but I am grateful that you've been there for me while I'm grieving. The truth is that I don't know if I'll ever fall in love and I realise now that it wasn't fair of me to play with your heart while you were trying to figure out who you wanted to give it to." He sits on the side of the bed and wipes my cheek with his sleeve.

"I forgive you." I say in a small voice. "And it's not all your fault... I can't make a decision about love either. The first time I tried to love someone I was taken away from him and when I saw him next he had moved on and gotten engaged. Then when I realised I was falling for Peter – well crashing, really – Everything just got messed up." I close my eyes and bury my face in the pillow.

"Just go to sleep, you don't need to think about this now." He says, I feel his hand on my back. "I'll be here for you in the morning... and I promise I won't try to kiss you again." He adds with a joking tone. I attempt a witty reply but all that escapes my mouth is a murmur before I'm dragged into the darkness of sleep. It happens slowly at first and then all at once; and I once again greet Peter's smiling face in my dream.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Florist

**Chapter 4**

"Wake up!" I hear Emmeline say with annoyance. I blink my eyes open and look over at her standing by my bed. The week has passed and the funeral will be held today.

"Look at these." She says, holding out some white lilly flowers in her hands.

"What about them?" I ask, moving my body to sit up.

"We ordered white roses! This is a disaster!" She throws the flowers on my bed and squeezes the bridge of her nose in frustration. I yawn deeply and flick my eyes to my window. Only a small amount of light falls through the cracks of my curtains. I move my eyes to my other side to look at my alarm clock and my expression sours.

"It's 4am, Emmeline." I say in a tone of distaste.

"I know." She shakes her head as if she doesn't realise the problem. "What are we going to do about this?" She asks me, nodding to the flowers. I run my hand through my hair and stretch my arms.

"I suppose I can go into town to check in with the florist- see what the mix-up was." I say with another yawn.

"No, by the time they open guests will already be arriving." She shakes her head again, moving her hands to her hips. She then walks over to my closet and whips open the doors to look through my dresses. "I can't find anything decent to wear." She adds.

"Uh... feel free to steal one of mine then, I guess." I say as I throw my blanket off and move my feet the floor.

"It's not my fault you own more black dresses than me- I like to like _nice_ in public, not gothic." She says dryly.

"I don't look gothic." I reply, fixing my hair and make up.

"Where did you get this?" She asks, withdrawing a dress from it's hanger.

"You can't have it, I'm wearing it today." I say, glancing back at her. She blinks down at my body for a moment before holding the dress up to hers.

"But it won't suit you." She says almost innocently. I sigh and stand from my vanity before walking over to her and snatching the dress.

"I'll go to the florist when they open and see what I can do about the roses. The guests won't be arriving that early but if they do, they'll understand." I say to her firmly, before smoothing down my sleek black dress over my front. Emmeline continues to glare at me with narrowed eyes before reaching into my closet and bringing out another black dress that she was looking at before.

"Make sure they're white." She says, slinging the dress over her shoulder and leaving my room. I place my dress on my bed and finish my make up before dressing in some jeans and a casual top. I leave my room and walk out to the main hall to offer my help in setting up for the funeral.

Hours pass before the watch on my wrist buzzes, alarming me that it's time to check in with the florist. When I slide my jacket on and slip away from the group of people setting up William runs over to walk with me.

"Are you leaving? Can I come? I can't deal with Emmeline's orders any more." He asks. I nod to him with a smile and we head for the newly installed elevator in the foyer.

"How does one hand a drape so it looks 'ethereal'?" He asks in frustration.

"She's just stressed- we all are." I say, stepping into the elevator.

"But it just feels like she's aiming a lot of it at me. I don't understand what I did to her." He says, leaning back against the hand-rail of the booth. The elevator moves extremely fast to make the journey to the bottom of the mountain quick.

"Or what you haven't done to her. She did kind of love you for a while there." I say with a smirk, to which he shakes his head.

"She was _infatuated_ with me. Not in love with." He replies. "Besides she's slept with plenty of other guys since then, I doubt it's still going on." He folds his arms. I let out a small laugh.

"For someone who lives with heaps of women- you know nothing about them." I say before pausing. "Oh! I think I just figured out why she would be upset with you..." I say with a look of realisation. He raises an eyebrow and I continue. "She saw us kissing in the clinic. If she's still in love with you then she would be pretty jealous."

"Infatuated." He quickly corrects me, before going silent in thought. A few minutes pass before I speak again.

"Could you ever imagine yourself with her?" I ask, interested.

"Ugh, to be honest I can't imagine myself with anyone right now. Besides she would be very high maintenance." He says. I laugh before responding.

"No, she's just like a bird- get her lots of shiny things and she'll be satisfied." William laughs and the elevator soon slows to a halt at the base of the mountain. We move through the doors and take the short walk into the town of Linmoor, headed for the florist. There's plenty of hustle and bustle in the town as the people are walking to work or getting ready for their morning.

"Is it just me- or did this town get bigger?" I turn my head to ask William. He explains his answer as we walk.

"It's expanded quite a bit in the last year or so. People were originally afraid to move here because our Aerie made a home on the mountain. They didn't want to get caught in the crossfire between us and the witches. Also there was the whole harpy-thing. But it seems people aren't as afraid any-more." He finishes. I nod my head,

"Or they're more trusting in the Veela." I say, after a while adding, "Do you believe there is reason to fear a war between us and the witches still?" I ask, my mind drifting to my unpleasant memories of the witches.

"Our Aerie hasn't even had so much as a threat. But I've been hearing that others are still being attacked daily. We're sending all the help that we can but everything is more difficult when we don't have a High Queen to make the decisions." He says. I feel a pang of nervousness after hearing this. We walk through the door of the florist and William notices me biting my lip.

"Don't worry. If the elders choose you they're not going to just throw you in the deep end as soon as you start. You'll have at least ten advisors at the beginning- and the decisions will only be small." He says. I nod slowly,

"Can you take care of this for me? I've had a budding headache all morning and these smells are getting to me." I say as I gesture to all the flowers around me. William nods and I tell him the problem we were sent here for. I step out into the street and as soon as I do so I'm run into by someone rushing with a pram.

"Woops!" I hear a man say as I fall to the ground. My trained reflexes mean that I sit up quickly to come face to face with the dribbling baby in the pram. The child staring at me has tufts of blonde hair and big bright blue eyes, which are staring right at me. The baby giggles and I continue to stare at the boy as I move to my feet. I look up at the pram-pusher and my mouth gapes open as I come face to face with Felix.

"Felix, what's the hold up?" I hear Peter ask as he walks up behind Felix with his hands full of baby food, bottles and diapers. He stops walking when he sees me and he quickly lowers his arms in an attempt to hide the little teddy bear in the pile of supplies.

"Oh." He says.

"Hi." Felix adds. I blink back at them before my lips curl up in a wide smile.

"You came!" I exclaim, moving around the pram to pull them both into a hug. They both stand awkwardly as I embrace them but I feel Felix place a hand on my back and Peter rest his head against mine tenderly. I quickly move away from them and move my eyes back to the baby.

"Who's this little man?" I ask, kneeling down to look at him.

"This is Finn. My, er... son." Felix says nervously. I tilt my head as I observe the baby. I've never spent much time around infants, and to be honest I don't understand the appeal of having one. The baby, Finn, begins to drool so I reach out my hand to wipe it away with his bib.

"It's quite rude to drool in the presence of a lady, Finn." I say to him. Just as I move my fingers away Finn reaches for my finger and grips into it firmly. His tiny fingers wrap around my whole forefinger and I have to pause in wonder. I think I'm starting to understand why people want these things.

"I sorted out the mix up, Lena." William says as he walks out of the shop behind me. I hear him pause and his tone changes to slightly annoyed.

"Oh. You two are here." He says. I move from my kneeling position and stand beside William.

"I invited them, Will." I say, adding, "Well no time to waste, I'm running out of time to get ready." I nod in the direction we need to go.

"You already look good." Peter blurts out, causing me to raise an eyebrow and the other two men to stare at him. I give him a small, grateful smile before gesturing for them to follow me. We walk back to the elevator and just as we step into it, a man and a woman call out and come running up to get in as well. In their arms are bundles upon bundles of white roses. William stops the door from closing and they step in. The door closes behind them and all of us stand in an awkward silence.

"There's multiple elevators, you know- you didn't have to hurry like that." William says to the people wearing the florist t-shirts. They look at each other before the woman speaks.

"We were told these were needed urgently." She says. As I lean back against the elevator wall I notice an odd bulge the man's jacket. I tilt my head to observe a slight outline of sort sort of handle. When I come to realise what I'm seeing I stand up straight. Everyone looks at me shifting uncomfortably and the man speaks.

"It seems to be one hell of an event you're having here. We don't usually get orders this large." He says. I stare over at him silently and he simply blinks at me.

"Lena, is everything okay?" William asks, reaching his hand out for me.

"Hmm?" I tear my eyes off of the people to look at him.

"Oh... yes." I say, moving my eyes back to them. Finn gurgles and Felix leans over to wipe his chin of the dribble. I feel Peter's eyes on me and I make eye contact with him for a moment. My heart thumps in my chest so I move my eyes back to the man and woman.

"Do you two live in Linmoor?" I ask them. They exchange another glance and fail at making it discreet.

"We were born in this area but worked on our parent's farm most of our lives." One of them says.

"Working at the florist was a recent decision." The other adds.

"You went from being farmers to being florists?" I ask, dryly. I notice that jaw of the man harden in annoyance and I have to lean back on the wall to seem less aggressive. I have the urge to ask why the man is wielding a gun but I know it's best to get everyone else out of harm's way first. Just as I consider this, Felix interrupts my train of thought.

"Uhh, Lena... do you want to hold Finn?" He asks. I don't remove my eyes from the men as I respond.

"No thanks." I say, without much thought. When I notice the look of dissapointment on Felix's face I quickly continue, "I mean, I do. Just not right now... I think I should help the florists bring in the roses." I notice that the elevator has almost reached the lobby and the two people are staring at the doors intently.

"You don't have to do that, we've got it." The woman says, picking up her flowers and preparing to hurry out when the door opens. A bell sound dings and the door slides open so I quickly step in front of them and reach to pick up a bouquet.

"I'll meet you three inside there." I say to the men, hoping that they'll leave me without fuss. I hold open the door so the pram can get through and Felix hesitates.

"Really. We'll be fine." The man says, moving to push through and get into the lobby. I step in front of him and hold the door open for the pram.

"No. Really. I insist." I say, looking at him sternly. Felix moves the pram through the door and William follows him to show him where to go. Peter trails out behind them and he keeps his eyes on me.

"I was hoping we could talk." He says. I nod to him but keep my eyes on the man and woman who are beginning to get suspicious of me.

"Sure. Just give me a moment." I say, stepping back into the elevator and blocking the two from entering the lobby. I hit the 'Door Close' button and behind me I hear Peter begin to question what I'm doing. The closing door cuts him off and as soon as it's shut the man and woman drop the flowers in their hands to reach for their guns. I quickly spring into action.


	5. Chapter 5 - Ashes to Ashes

**Chapter 5**

Dispatching the two in the elevator was surprisingly easy and I can only assume that they're not professional. Before the man passed out I tried to get some information for him and he mumbled something about the jewel. When the elevator doors open again Peter is still waiting in the lobby but Emmeline is stood talking to him. They both widen their eyes at the sight of me standing in front of two unconscious bodies and a sea of destroyed white roses. I grab a handful of rose petals and slowly step onto the lobby, already tired. I hand the petals to Emmeline as I pass her.

"There's your roses." I say, adding over my shoulder, "They were after you. Get this place locked down and screen all further guests." I leave the two behind to dress in my funeral dress and make myself presentable.

When I'm headed for the main hall one of the elders stops me in my tracks.

"Maddalena, we heard about the intruders in the lobby and we want to express our gratitude for what you did for Emmeline. Know that your brave act has not gone unnoticed." He offers me his elbow and I allow him to escort me the rest of the way as we speak.

"Perhaps it's time to consider getting Emmeline to a safe house. At least then the rest of us won't be in danger." I say. The Elder agrees with me and as we pass a balcony exit in the hallway I hear the shrieking of a baby. I look over to see Felix leaning over his pram and trying to sooth Finn. I excuse myself from the Elder's side and I leave to join Felix. He looks up at me with a face of worry as I approach him.

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry. I know I'm ruining this for you." He says, moving Finn into his arms so he can bounce him side to side.

"Ruining what? The funeral? Don't be silly." I fold my arms as I stand beside the pram.

"I need to get his pacifier, can you hold him?" Felix asks, looking to me with desperation on his face.

"Um. I don't think that's a good idea." I say, taking a half step back. I've never held a baby.

"Please? I could really use the help." He insists, moving to my side and placing the crying Finn into my arms. Felix moves my hands so I'm securing Finn's head and neck in one and his tiny body in the other. I'm forced to stare face to face with the red-faced shrieker before me. Felix begins furiously digging through his pram compartment and Finn starts to flail his legs about.

"Um. Shh... it's okay." I say in the most soothing voice I can manage. To my surprise, Finn opens his eyes to look at me and he slowly calms down. His eyes widen in wonder as he stares at my face. I rock him slowly in my arms and I feel myself smile down at him. I never thought that my charm could work on an infant. Felix stands wide-eyed as he watches me hold his son.

"How did you do that?" He asks, his mouth gaping.

"I think he just needed a distraction. What do you think is wrong with him? Is he hungry?" I ask, my mind instantly thinking of Laura.

"No, I think he just misses his mother's voice. He seems to be able to recognise it." He says, placing Finn's pacifier in his open mouth. Felix steps toward us to stare down at Finn lovingly and he places his hand on the back of Finn's head – which just so happens to be under my hand. I feel my shoulders tense so I quickly hand Finn back to his father's arms.

"I think they're going to begin." I say, turning to leave.

"Do you remember this balcony?" Felix asks suddenly, causing me to stop in my tracks. I glance around the balcony and my eyes fall on the seat.

"It's where I tried to kiss you when I finally got to be with you after Neverland." He says.

"You were succumbing to my charm." I sigh. "It wasn't real, it was forced." I add.

"How can it be forced if I've loved you ever since you left Neverland?" He says seriously, causing my whole frame to stiffen again.

"You can't be saying things like this, Felix." I say sternly, worried that an Elder is listening. Or worse- Emmeline. Felix places Finn back in his pram and he looks back up at me with the same intent look.

"Let me kiss you." He says, it sounds like a request.

"What? No- Felix, stop." I say.

"If you kiss me then maybe I can make you realise that you love me too." He says desperately.

"You _know _I love you. I'm just not in love with you. And even if I was, _this _could never happen. You have an infant son whose mother belongs to a whole race that hates me and my family." I say, crossing my arms.

"I would go through any pain for you, none of that matters. We could go away from here. It would be just you and me and Finn. You could stop doing all these ridiculous things for those people that order you around like a dog." He furrows his eyebrows.

"Hold your tongue." I snap, causing his features to soften.

"These people might one day be my subjects and no matter what I do for them, I don't do it because I'm _told to_\- I do it because I care for the welfare of my people." I add, just as sternly.

"Lena, you sound like Emmeline." He says. I roll my eyes and take another step toward the door.

"If I sound like Emmeline then I'm finally doing something right. I'm more like her than you- we're from different races – pretty much different species." I hear the sound of violins playing a gloomy melody. "I have to go. Enjoy the food." I say, with a sigh. From behind me, Felix protests my leaving but I ignore it as I head for the main hall. When I reach the main hall I see a throng of familiar faces. Emmeline is seated in the front row and there is an empty seat next to her with my name on it. I slide into my seat silently and listen intently as the Elder has already begun his sermon.

"Today we gather in memory of our beloved High Queen, Cassiopeia Evangeline Flitwick." He begins. He goes on to tell tales of when Cassiopeia grew up alongside her sisters, and how she came to take over the role of matriarch after the tragic disappearance of the previous queen, her sister and my mother. He speaks of her wise and disciplined nature and how she was considered to be a great queen. Emmeline then stands and says a few loving words for her mother and promises that she will look after her two younger sisters, Primrose and Rosaline, who are sat on the same row as me wearing sombre expressions. The funeral party are then instructed to stand from their seats and we all walk down to the ritual pool in the valley of the mountains. Cassiopeia's ashes are spread into the pool as the Elder does a chant from the rune-covered book that was present at my rituals. We bow our heads in memory and leave gifts and flowers at the side of the pool before people start to disperse and return to the mansion to have food. I'm staring blankly at my reflection in the pool when I see Peter move to stand beside me.

"I'm sorry about your aunt." He says with sincerity. I turn to face him with a half-hearted smile.

"That's very kind of you." I say.

"Listen, I know now may not be the best time but I really wanted to speak with you." He says, his features hardening.

"You're right. It's not the best time. But I have a feeling I won't be able to stop you anyway." I say, turning to begin the walk back to the mansion to joins everyone. Just as I suspect, Peter hurries to walk by my side as he continues.

"I feel like we left things very open-ended last time.-" He says, I cut him off.

"Will you do something for me?" I ask. He looks puzzled but continues to walk by my side.

"Yes, what?" He asks.

"I need to speak with that warlock- Zilocke." I say, adding, "You still work for him, don't you?"

"Yes... why do you need to speak with him?" He asks.

"Not that it's any of your business but he and my mother have history." I say, giving him a stern look. He responds with confusion. I know I'm being harsh to him and Felix but I'm beginning to realise that seeing them again is doing more damage than it does healing.

"I suppose I could ask him. The problem is that I'm not really supposed to even be here. I came because you asked me to." He says, as sternly as I snapped at him. I look over at him and he meets my gaze, I have to pinch my leg as I walk to ignore the obvious electricity sparking up between us. I look back ahead of me and he slowly does the same.

"'I love you completely and irrefutably and I could never feel the same way about anyone as I do for you.'" When he says it I instantly recognise it and it almost brings tears to my eyes.

"What?" I ask, feigning confusion.

"You wrote that to me in your letter. Right before you left me. Along with a line about how a love like ours is strong and patient." He says.

"Sounds like the ramblings of a lovesick teenager." I say, we're nearing the top of the steps and my pace has begun to quicken.

"Are you saying that you no longer love me like that?" He asks.

"I'm saying that I'm no longer a kid." I say, stopping as steps have ended. He stops as well but moves right in front of me.

"You stopped being a kid when you came to Neverland." He says with seriousness.

"And you never stopped." I say with annoyance. I feel his hand slide to my waist and I can tell that he's going to try and distract me with a kiss. I give him a firm shove and I step away from his embrace.

"And there you go again! You think that kissing me will make me ignore everything that's happening. As if it will some how fix it. Peter, there's no such thing as a love that can conquer everything. In reality there are rules and death and consequences- you and I just aren't allowed to be together." I say.

"You can't really believe that, can you?" He asks, a tone of desperation in his voice.

"You can take the boy out of Neverland but you can't take the Neverland out of the boy." I roll my eyes. "Stop dreaming Peter." I break away from him and hurry inside. I hear him chasing after me so I use my knowledge of these halls to try and get away from him.

"Lena, wait!" He shouts from behind me. I open the doors to the dining hall to see that all of the Elders as well as Emmeline are sat down. They all glare up at me and I come to a full stop. Peter almost crashes into me from behind and the Elders simply stare at him.

"Good, Maddalena and Peter Pan are here to join us. Take a seat." One of the Elders orders.

"Maddalena?" Peter whispers to me from my side. I ignore him and walk willingly over to sit in the chair next to Emmeline, who has her heard bowed as if she's just been scolded.

"We're just waiting for your second in command." The Elder says pointedly at Peter. Who's taken a seat in the chair next to me.

"Who, Felix? He's not really my second in command since the Lost Boys kind of disbanded..." Peter says, attempting to place his hand gently on my knee under the table. I hit his hand away and from beyond the door we hear a baby crying. Felix bursts in and looks stunned as a table full of people are looking at him.

"And he's brought his half-warlock offspring with him..." The same Elder says with distaste.

"Sorry, I'll go find another room." Felix begins to back away,

"Felix Hammond take a seat." The Elder orders. Felix straightens up and manages to calm down Finn.

"That's not really my name-" He begins, cut off by the same Elder.

"Sit." The Elder warns. Felix makes his way over to the table and he rocks Finn in his arms. Emmeline glares at Finn with distaste but she remains silent. We sit for a moment in silence before I decide to speak.

"Are we waiting for someone else?" I ask, familiar with how these meetings with the Elders usually go. They only speak when they deem it an appropriate time to speak.

"Just one. But we are expecting him to bring his protégé..." He looks off at a sheet of paper another Elder offers to him. "Sage." I look up, instantly recognising the name and just as I do both of the large double doors are opened. In walks Zilocke with his female companion, Sage, at his side.

"Sorry if we're late. Your Nyx guards refused to allow us entry until we provided identification... it seems you're all on high alert around here." He says, walking over to take a seat. I notice that Peter has already stood from his seat and is looking to Zilocke with a look of caution- as if he's been caught stealing.

"Sit down, Pan, if you honestly believed you had outwitted me then I clearly over-estimated you." He says sternly. It's so odd for me to hear someone talking to the great and powerful Peter Pan like he's just some boy. Up until now I thought I was the only one who would dare to. I keep my eyes fixed on Zilocke and I don't flinch when he glares back at me.

"Nice to see you again, Lena." He says with a nod, "You remember Sage?" He gestures to the cloaked girl who is stood behind him. I don't know where my nerve suddenly comes from but I don't like it when he looks at me like he's better than me.

"I think you'll find that the Veela are far more welcoming than your witch kind, Sage. Feel free to sit if you'd like to." I tell the girl, who remains silent. Zilocke, however, lets out a chuckle at my remark.

"So... Elders of the High Aerie, my old friends. You summoned me to this meeting- shall we begin?" Zilocke asks, placing his elbows on the table and bringing his palms together to look pensive. How is it that he's not even sat at either of the heads of the table- and yet it still feels like he's in the seat of power?


	6. Chapter 6 - Welcome Back

**Chapter 6**

"It appears that when the head Witch clan found out that they shared a common enemy with us they sought out this Saudi Arabian prince-" The Elder looks to the paper again, "Youssof Basara."

I glance to Emmeline and I notice she has her head down, her eyes fixed on the table.

"But isn't he human? Why would they bother?" I ask.

"Like us, the witches need money. Now they have a source." Another Elder adds.

"So then what is he doing here, isn't he the enemy?" I ask, nodding to Zilocke.

"I'm no one's enemy, nor anyone's ally. I only operate to serve my own interest. Though with that- I agree. What am I doing here?" He says, directing this to the Elders.

"We need a safe location for both Emmeline and Maddalena. We understand you have somewhere the witches can't touch." The Elder says. Zilocke narrow his eyebrows slightly.

"And how did you know this?" He asks. The Elder looks to Peter who's look of guilt grows. Zilocke notices and shakes his head.

"I _won _that place fair and square and I'm not about to give just anyone access to it. I owe you nothing." Zilocke begins to stand from his chair and Sage steps back in preparation to follow him out.

"We think you'll reconsider." The Elder says sternly, causing Zilocke to pause and look at them angrily. Another Elder speaks next.

"The safety of those you care about is in grave danger." He says.

"And how would you know who's worthy of my care?" Zilocke replies.

"Do not take us for fools." Another Elder chimes in. I furrow my eyebrows. 

"What the hell is going on here?" I ask, looking between them. Zilocke looks over at me and a strange expression passes across his face. I can't seem to place it.

"So that's it. You're just going to blackmail me? I don't get anything out of this?" Zilocke asks, ignoring my question. One of the Elders brings out a bundle of cloth. When he slides it along the table it appears something solid is wrapped in it. Zilocke stops it from sliding with his hand and he unwraps it on the table. When the pink, shining diamond is revealed Emmeline sits forward in her seat.

"You stole it from me!?" She says, standing and casting an angry look at the Elders.

"This is the jewel everyone is after? This is the Queen's diamond?" Zilocke asks, studying the necklace in his hands.

"It's worth a lot of money... and it's not theirs to give." Emmeline says, shooting another glare at the end of the table.

"This is a relic that belongs to the witches. They thought it was lost decades ago." Zilocke says, not moving his eyes from the jewel. "We just have another name for it."

"It also holds great power that only a witch or warlock can harness. So do you accept?" The Elder asks. Zilocke wraps up the necklace and hands it to Sage.

"I'll wait in the courtyard. They can have half an hour." He says, turning and heading for the door. Peter quickly stands and hurries over to him. Zilocke places a hand on his chest to stop him from moving through the door with them.

"And what makes you think I'm letting you come?" He asks. Pan straightens his posture and gives a pleading look.

"I haven't paid off my debt to you..." He says. Zilocke's hand doesn't move from Peter and a blue light appears from his palm. Peter seems to shudder- his whole frame looks like it's just been hit by lightning. Without thinking I move to my feet and feel my fingers curl into my palm. Zilocke, Emmeline and the Elders all move their eyes to me curiously. I meet each of their eyes and have to force myself back into my seat with a look of shame. Since when did you forget to hide your feelings, Lena? Peter appears out of breath and he's breathing heavily.

"You're released from your debt. Stay out of my way." Zilocke says to Peter. Peter supports himself on the wall and the door shuts when Sage and Zilocke disappear behind it.

"Maddalena and Emmeline pack your bags. You're going on another trip." The Elder orders. Emmeline moves away from the table with an angry groan and leaves the room. I can't hold myself back any long so I hurry over to Peter, placing my hands on his shoulders. I turn my head to look back at the Elders and notice Felix standing from his seat slowly. He and Finn were so quiet the whole time that I forgot they were here.

"Peter, are you alright?" Felix asks, cradling Finn. Peter struggles to regain his posture and his face is covered in sweat.

"Maddalena, it's time to go pack." An Elder says, appearing behind me. The Elder places his hand on my arm and pulls me from Peter. I move to his command but I'm not quite sure why. My eyes move from Peter to Felix as I back away from them. The Elder opens the door for me and leads me out and I watch the men who are watching me leave. Felix gulps and suddenly he looks so young and boyish- even with his son in his arms. Peter looks exhausted and pained but his eyes hold determination as they settle on me. Finally I tear my eyes off of them and I walk out to the hall and then all the way to my room, without looking behind me. I'm barely focused as I pack a bag and I'm glad William comes in to help- otherwise I would probably have forgotten shoes.

"This should be fine." I say, closing my luggage bag and zipping it. "You go get yours and I'll meet you in the courtyard." I move over to pack my hair and make-up bag when I see William take a seat on my bed.

"I'm not coming with you Lena." He says with a glum tone.

"You're not?" I stop, turning back to face him. "Why not?" I add.

"Because the Elders don't want me to. You know how it is with them- whatever they say goes." His hands are tightly wound together in his lap. I bite my lip as I go back to packing the last of my things. William remains silent as he watches me. When I glance to him in the mirror I find it strange to notice how he watches on with a different type of affection. We've been through many ups and downs and even with the craziness of today still fresh on our minds, William finally seems at peace. When I gather my bags William stands to carry the heavy ones. As soon as he does I step toward him and pull him into a hug. I rest my head against his chest and tighten my arms around his midriff. He places his lips against the top of my head and places his hands on my arms. We don't say anything more once we leave my bedroom and head for the courtyard. As I approach it I feel a strong wind coming in through the landing doors. The curtains are blowing frantically and small ornaments are being pushed off their tables. A purple cloud rests around the courtyard and a dark starry sky hangs overhead. When my eyes fall on the black arch-type structure in the centre I immediately recognise it as a portal. I freeze and look around for an Elder to question. I notice Emmeline talking to Zilocke near some pillars and it looks like she's arguing with him. I can't hear them over the loud whooshing of wind in my ears. Zilocke steps back from Emmeline and his eyes fall on me with the same looks of annoyance. He then groans loudly and swears before walking back into the estate. William and I walk over to Emmeline who's busy watching Zilocke walk back into the estate.

"I would prefer it if they told us we were leaving this realm. This doesn't look good to me." I shout to her. Emmeline doesn't look at me as she replies.

"This wouldn't look good to a blind person, Lena. This whole thing feels foul." She shouts back.

"Emmeline. Before you go, can I talk to you?" William says loudly, surprising both Emmeline and I. Emmeline looks at him with confusion before giving him a nod. Before she follows him off she turns to me with a stern expression.

"You and I are even now." I begin to ask her what she's referring to but she leaves just as an angry Zilocke returns with a body in tow. Peter is being dragged along behind and there's a look of relief on his face. He glances over to me and I raise an eyebrow as I watch him.

"Time to go." Zilocke shouts, looking to Emmeline and I. Sage walks out of the estate with a duffel bag swung over her shoulder and she walks right into the black-purple void that fills the space in the archway. She disappears into it and Zilocke shoves Peter into it after her. I look over at Emmeline and William to see that Emmeline looks completely shocked. William has a serious look on his face as he moves to place my luggage bags at my feet. As soon as he places them down they get lifted into the air as if they're caught in a small cyclone and moves into the portal. I look at Zilocke who seems to be causing this. Emmeline squares her shoulders and walks straight for the portal without pausing. Zilocke then extends his hand to me to gesture for me to go in next. I walk over to the portal and just as I glance over my shoulder at Zilocke I see Felix stood in the foyer with his hands in his pockets and Finn in the pram at his side. I rock forward and am swallowed by the void.

As soon as I step through the portal the scene changes dramatically and I greet a sight that I've not seen in real life since I was sixteen. The mountain-filled background is now stocked with endless trees in a huge forest. The only tracks are made of dirt and we're next to a clearing of ramshackle tents and bamboo structures.

"Welcome back to Neverland." Zilocke says. His lips curling at the sides in a dark manner.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Log Cabin

**Chapter 7**

I'm so in shock I barely even realise that I've backed up a few steps and run into Sage. She pushes me off of her and adjusts the cloak over her face.

"Do you ever take that off?" Emmeline asks her with a tone in her voice. Sage simply shoots a glare at Emmeline before rearranging her duffel bag on her shoulder. I'm still caught in my moment of shock as I continue to look at my surroundings.

"Is this real?" I ask, a warning signal pounding in my head. "What about... the shadow?" I add, turning to Peter. Peter has his back to me and he seems preoccupied with something else.

"That shadow isn't around any more. Let's just say I've got it in safe keeping." Zilocke says, walking off after Sage with his hands joined behind his back. I walk over to Peter and notice that he seems to be staring up at the tree tops.

"Peter?" I place my hand on his shoulder and he slightly jumps.

"What?" He snaps out of his reverie.

"Are you alright?" I ask. He gulps and glances around us.

"It just feels odd. Being back here makes me feel... different." He says, slowly trailing after Zilocke. Emmeline walks to my side with her arms crossed. We both retrieve our bags and trail after the group.

"What did you say to Zilocke to make him allow Peter to come?" I ask, making sure we're out of earshot from the others.

"I told him that know his secret." She says, keeping her gaze ahead of her. Her posture is straight and her chin is symmetrical with the ground. Even in this rustic, muddy setting she still walks like a princess.

"Oh..." I say, keeping my eyes on her as a hint. She meets my gaze and promptly rolls her eyes.

"You already know his secret Lena, you're just choosing not to believe it." She says. I purse my lips.

"I don't know what you're referring to." I reply.

"Damn right you do, I found it out through you." She says. I purse my lips again and she sighs, thrusting a hand into my bag. I begin to pull away, fearing that she wants my favourite jewellery but instead with withdraws my mother's locket.

"If you've believed everything the Elders have told you then you're dumber than I thought." She says, handing me the locket. I flick the clasp open and glare down at the young Zilocke staring back at me. I close it after a moment and shove it into my pocket as I continue.

"Well what if it's easier for everyone involved if I just play dumb? Doing anything else just seems like it will cause problems." I say, hardly believing that I'm talking to Emmeline for advice.

"All I know for sure is that we're young and beautiful- playing dumb is incredibly easy." She shrugs. I bite my lip and my eyes move up to Peter.

"Why did you insist that he come along?" I ask her, amused at the thought of Emmeline caring about me. She seems to notice because her mood quickly sours.

"I knew how much of a bother you would be if you didn't have your lover-boy around to amuse you. That's all." She snaps, speeding up to walk ahead. I smirk, recalling her 'playing dumb' comment.

"Right."

–

We walk for about ten minutes before we reach a structure in the clearing. It seems to be a sizable log cabin placed in the middle of a forest. I almost gasp when I see it, knowing how out of place it is in a setting such as this. We all file over the porch and through the front door to enter a living room. The house has a cozy feel to it but nothing can make me ignore the unsettling feeling I have inside. Being back in Neverland means that I have a flood of memories appearing in my head at unexpected times. I'm half glad that Peter is so preoccupied with his own thoughts otherwise he would notice that I've stared at him at least ten times in the last minute.

"There's enough bedrooms for you all to have one each." Zilocke says. "Now get out of my way, Sage and I have business to attend to." He adds.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Emmeline asks. Zilocke doesn't halt to answer as he walks out the door.

"Stay alive." He utters over his shoulder. He pauses on the porch and thrusts a finger at Peter.

"I'm trusting that you won't insult my graciousness by breaking the house rules. You sleep in _your own_bed." He says in warning. Peter narrows his eyebrows at him and we glance at each other before darting our eyes to the floor. Why do I feel like I'm a rebel teenager that's being scolded? Zilocke and Sage leave and Emmeline and I drag our luggage to our rooms. I set up my clothes and return to the living room to find Peter staring at the burning fire in the fireplace.

"Are you hungry?" I ask him. He doesn't seem to hear me and his expression remains unrecognisable. He almost looks annoyed.

"Peter?" I say with more volume.

"What?" He asks in an irritated tone, looking at me. I raise an eyebrow and fold my arms.

"I'm just asking if you want food." I say back sternly. I hear Emmeline walk into the lounge room behind me and Peter flicks his glare to her.

"There won't be food here. I'll go get something." He says, heading for the door.

"What do you mean?" Emmeline calls, standing beside me.

"He's going to get meat, Em." I say, attempting to word it delicately.

"You're going to go kill an animal for dinner? Gross." She says with obvious distaste. Peter seems to grunt as he turns around to face us.

"Would you rather starve?" He says it so forcefully even I'm taken aback.

"Woah. Someone's in a mood." Emmeline snaps, walking over to sit in an armchair and ignore him. I bite my lip as I watch Peter with cautious eyes. He glares back at me and his features soften.

"I- I just..." He groans before letting the fly-screen door shut behind him. "I need to go kill something" He calls back. I walk up to close the front door before joining Emmeline in sitting by the fire.

"Guess I'm going to see what Peter Pan was like before he left Neverland..." She curls up on the armchair, adding, "I have to admit I kind of found that whole evil thing sexy." I roll my eyes and move to my feet, suddenly feeling the urge to escape Emmeline's presence.

"Oh, shut up." I say, walking down the hall to lie down on my bed.

–

When I wake up it's morning and there are loud, squawking birds in the trees near my window. I groan and roll over in my bed, reaching for my phone. When I find it I notice that it's cold and there's no life in it. I open the back to see that the battery is missing. An analogue clock slowly ticks on the wall, revealing that it's 6am in the morning. I slide out of bed and open the curtains to my window. When I do the morning air hits my face and I greet a view that's so surreal that I had previously almost been unable to form it in my head when I recalled the forests of Neverland. The trees are tall with trunks that twist and turn, hinting that they are home to all types of wildlife. There are ferns in with the shrubbery and brightly coloured plants, some with spikes and tendrils and some with umbrella-looking petals. I walk to my wardrobe and dress in some workout gear. I stretch in my room and the feeling brings a smile to my face. After not working out for a while I miss the firmness of my abdomen muscles or the ability to lift heavier things and run faster and further. I creep down that hall and my stomach rumbles, prompting me to move into the kitchen. I glare at a refrigerator stood next to the cabinets and against the wall. Before I even open it I peek in the space between it and the wall. There doesn't seem to be any electrical plugs running into it but the outside is cold to the touch. I swing the door open and greet a fridge full of food. I bring out some of the packets and find myself bewildered as to how Zilocke managed to get food that looks like it's from a store. In the end I decide on making a porridge before I head out for a run through the forest.

Even though it was so long ago, running over the dirt tracks, jumping over tree roots and ducking under branches feels so familiar. Part of me misses having Felix close by in case I trip and fall. I run until my forehead and back are slick with sweat and I'm craving water. I hear running water and I walk along the dirt track until I can see a small waterfall through some trees. When I get to it I cup my hands under the running water and begin to drink. I run some over my head to cool off and I'm just about to head back when I see movement in the corner of my eyes. Through the trees, standing on a cliff edge is Peter. He seems to be just staring out at the ocean before him. I silently walk to the tree edge to say something. I stop when I notice that he has a sharp dagger in his hand. He spins the dagger in his hand a few times while he daydreams. When I get glimpses of his face I notice that he still looks annoyed, like something is on his mind. Suddenly he turns around and thrusts his dagger hand back. He heaves the dagger at a nearby tree and the fright makes me fall on my behind. When I fall I try to catch myself and my wrist takes a lot of the impact. I curse under my breath and grip my aching wrist. Peter doesn't seem to notice me but from here I can see the look in his eyes. He seems to have hit his target on the tree and his face is full of amusement and something else. I haven't seem him have that look since I first came to Neverland. I quickly push myself to my feet and run back in the direction of the cabin.

When I walk in the door the smell of a hot meal comes from the kitchen. I glance to the lounge to see Sage and Emmeline ignoring each other as I head for the dining table. Zilocke is cooking something and when his eyes fall on me he becomes stern.

"Where were you?" He asks.

"I was going for a run, what's the problem?" I ask.

"Don't go wandering, it's dangerous." He says, setting down the ingredients for a chicken salad roll. I roll my eyes at him, moving into a chair.

"Peter says you wanted to speak with me." He says, his tone getting slightly less serious. I think of the locket sitting with yesterday's clothes on the floor of my room. I purse my lips and I feel my knuckles clench. Now is not the time.

"How do you know Sage? She seems young." I say, leaning back on my chair.

"I didn't realise I was appearing friendly enough for you to ask me personal questions." He says, turning his focus on the meal.

"He says as he prepares enough food to feed all of us." I say with a tone. He looks down at all the food he's prepared but shakes his head, ignoring me.

"Hmm, so it's 'personal.' That means she matters to you, obviously. Though to be honest you seem a bit old for her." I add, drumming my fingers on the table.

"That's enough, don't be ridiculous." He says in an annoyed tone. "Why don't you just go away until I'm done?" He asks rhetorically. I stay where I am as I watch him.

"So it's not romantic, hmm." I say, continuing to drum my fingers on the table. "A niece then? I know she's not your daughter because-" I pause, my fingers freezing on the table. I'm still watching him and I notice that he seems to pause what he's doing. He slowly turns around to look at me and I raise an eyebrow.

"Is Sage your daughter?" I ask.


	8. Chapter 8 - A Black Eye

**Chapter 8**

"Yes. She's my daughter." He says, placing the plates of food in the centre of the dining table. I watch him move and I bite my lip, considering what this means. Sage and Emmeline walk into the dining room to join us, seemingly prompted that lunch is served. My eyes fall on Sage as she takes a seat. The others have begun to eat but my appetite goes as soon as Sage removes the cloak from her head. I can't say I'm too surprised when I notice that she looks exactly like me- though it does send a chill down my spine. Emmeline notices it too because she glances from Sage to me about four times.

"Okay, show of hands. Who at this table can transform into a fire-throwing beast?" Emmeline asks loudly, raising her hand.

"Emmeline." I say sternly as Sage and Zilocke look at her in confusion.

"How about we all go around the table and say who we've slept with before?" She says, the amusement visible on her face. Sage seems displeased as she prepares her lunch.

"Emmeline stop it." I add in annoyance. Zilocke shakes his head, his jaw setting. I hear footsteps behind us and Emmeline points at Peter who's just walked in.

"Lena and I have slept with him. What about you Zilocke? Are you strictly a witch guy or have you been enticed by any royal Veelas in the last twenty or so years?" She says, almost laughing at this point.

"Zilocke, what is she talking about?" Sage asks, looking to her father at the end of the table. Peter simply stands by the door with a look of confusion and I feel like I might throw up at any moment. I stand from my seat and my chair drags along the floor loudly. Everyone's eyes move to me and Zilocke looks concerned. I feel myself going light-headed and I have to support myself on the table.

"I'm going." I say, turning around and pushing past Peter. I walk out the front door and begin to head for the trees. My stomach rumbles and a heat rises in my chest. Oh no... not now. I grip at my chest and try to pull my sweater off of me to cool down. I pick up my pace to a run and I feel the transformation begin to take place. My feet and hands stretch and curve at the ends with sharp talons. Wings are forced through the scars on my back and they shred the back of my shirt. With the pain running all through my body I feel myself being lifted into the air as my wings kick into action.

I wake up in some charred dirt surrounded by blackened trees. My clothes are mostly torn off and my body is darkened by soot and dirt. I hear a male voice clear his throat nearby and I crane my neck to look up at Peter. He has a crisp white sheet in his hand as well as a vial of something.

"This will give you your strength back." He says, tossing the bottle so it lands at my side. I drag my hand over to it to uncap the lid and drink down the contents. The potion tastes sweet and it does what he said it would. I feel the power come flooding back into my limbs. For a moment I feel odd being naked in front of Peter but I shake my head to myself as I know better than to be coy. It's nothing he hasn't seen before. I move to my feet and I pull some of the dirt from my hair. Peter walks over with the sheet and he hands it to me, a dark smile on his face. I wrap it around my body and begin to walk back to the path to the cabin. Peter stops me by placing a hand on my hip, his eyes moving to my lips. I push his hand off of me.

"Stop it." I say sternly, hardly in the mood for this. I move to walk off again but this time he wraps his arm around me and holds my chin with his other hand. There is a cold look on his face and it leaves me wide-eyed and surprised. His dark look fades to an amused one with a smile, though I see no humour in it. The man holding me doesn't seem anything like the one I danced with. He presses his lips to mine firmly in a kiss and I stand, unmoving. So many conflicting emotions are pounding in my chest. He must feel that I'm not interested in his kiss because he pulls away from me with a look of confusion. He removes his hand from my chin but he keeps his arm wrapped around me. I stare back at him with a cold look and he furrows his eyebrows.

"Would you stop fighting the possibility of us?" He asks. When I don't respond he moves his free hand to hold my cheek to kiss me again. Our lips meet and I slide my hand up to his neck. I give him a shove and his back meets a tree. His arms move off of me and I press him against the tree, my hand around his neck. His dark smile returns and he grips onto the sheet I'm holding around my body, pulling my body to press against his.

"Finally." He says, his eyes on my body. My eye catches the dagger in his pocket so I remove my hand from his neck and I grab the dagger to hold against his throat in one swift motion. He removes his hands from me and he raises them to his sides defensively. The dark look on his face doesn't fade away.

"I didn't fall in love with the evil, sadist that you were when I met you and I don't care for you now that you're acting like that again. I don't know if it's this island that's getting to you or if somewhere, somehow the shadow is reaching out and taking control of your heart. But I do know this- I won't respect you if you don't respect me back." I utter in warning, all the while pressing the dagger against his neck. The evil look on his face doesn't falter.

"Have it your way then. Emmeline didn't need me to respect her when she invited me into her bed- I bet she'd love a round two." He chuckles maliciously. Before my voice of reason can kick in I allow my free hand to curl into a first and strike Peter in the face. He falls to the ground like a sack and swears loudly as he does so. He grips his eye where it seems to be swelling and I drop the dagger at his side. I tighten the sheet around my body as I walk off to find the cabin.

–

The last time I was in Neverland it was nearly impossible to tell where you're going but this time around it seems there's even more dirt tracks and many of them take you to either a water source or something useful. The sun has set and it's slowly becoming night. After walking around for half an hour I finally find the path that takes me to the cabin. I walk inside and Sage widens her eyes as she sees me wearing nothing but a sheet.

"Oh dear god." I hear Emmeline say as her eyes rest on me. Zilocke walks out from the hallway behind her and he shares Sage's look of bewilderment. I walk past them and into my room to quickly dress in sweatpants and a plain t-shirt. My eye catches my mother's locket so I slide it into my pocket. The whole activity is made difficult because of my throbbing right hand. When I return to the lounge Zilocke is waiting for me. I hold up my right wrist and his look of surprise returns.

"I think I broke my hand." I say, looking at how swollen it is.

"Come sit down." Zilocke says. I follow him and we sit down at the dining table. He takes my hand in his and he raises an eyebrow to me.

"How did you do this?" He asks.

"I fell on it weirdly this morning..." I say with a shrug. He gives me a look of disbelief so I continue.

"And I punched Peter in the face." I add, leaning back on my chair.

"Why?" He sits up with anger on his face. "What did he do to you?" He asks.

"Don't act so surprised. It's this island that's getting to him. You run it so you must have some idea of who he's turning into." I say, snatching my wrist out of his palm. The locket feels heavy in my pocket. Zilocke has sat back looking displeased as he retrieves some ointment, herbs and potions from his pockets. My fingers curl around the chain of the locket and I bring it out to place it on the table. Zilocke's eyes fix on it and he hesitates in placing some - on the table. When his hands are free he picks up the locket,

"What's this?" He asks, clicking it open. He pauses again when he sees his face.

"It was my mothers." I say, staring at him dead in the eye. For seemingly the first time ever, Zilocke appears taken aback. He meets my stare before moving his eyes back to the locket.

"We were old friends." He says finally, clicking it shut and rubbing ointment and a herb between his palms. He takes my swollen wrist and rubs the ointment on it.

"Is that really what you were? Friends?" I ask, unable to keep the judgemental tone from my voice. He doesn't look up at me as he replies but I notice his lips press into a line.

"We were friends at a time when the war between our kinds was at its worst. It was frowned upon." He says.

"Is that why she had to hide her pregnancy?" I ask. Zilocke's eye meet mine.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Maddalena." He says sternly. He withdraws a bandage from his pocket and wraps it securely around my wrist. I go silent as I watch him work and I notice he sends subtle glances my way when he thinks I'm not watching. He then withdraws another vial from his pocket and places it on the table in front of me.

"You should drink this... it will help you sleep." When he says it he returns to his usual demanding state. He sits back in his chair and squares his shoulders, appearing masculine and in charge. I eye off the vial and tilt my head, looking from it to him. He falters in his posture as he looks from the vial to me and in that moment I realise he's not being entirely truthful with me. I send my hand out and knock the potion over. The lid is on it securely so it simply rolls away, loud on the hardwood of the table.

"Lena..." He sighs, watching it roll away.

"Don't call me that. We're not friends- you will address me as Miss Flitwick." I say, moving to my feet. Zilocke stands when I do and as soon as he does it I wonder if he realises he's given another part of himself away. Clearly he's spent time around proper regulation if he stands from the table when a lady does.

"Don't leave yet, I'd like to speak with you." He says with seriousness.

"I won't stay if you're going to continue lying to me." I say, heading for the door way. I hear the front door open forcefully but before I can look to what caused it, my arm is grabbed firmly. Zilocke is holding onto me and he's pulling me to face him.

"Just stop walking away." He says, uneasiness in his voice. I look down to his hand gripping my arm firmly and watch as another male hand grips his arm. I follow the hand to see Peter glaring at Zilocke with a look that could kill.

"Get your hand off of her." Peter says, his eyes narrowed. He has a small line of blood coming from his nose and his left eye is bruised.

"You look horrible." Zilocke says, moving his hand back to his side. Peter says nothing but stands by my side protectively. It makes my want to roll my eyes. Zilocke looks between us.

"I told you to stay away from her, Pan." Zilocke adds, anger creeping into his voice.

"I'm done taking orders from you. Peter Pan does not take orders from anyone." Peter says darkly. Zilocke pushes between us, looking at Peter as he passes.

"You're getting on my last nerve, kid." He says, walking into the lounge room. Peter watches after him as he walks off, Emmeline and Sage watch the scene from their armchairs.

"And you on mine. In fact, I'm done with you entirely." As Peter says it he pulls his dagger from his pocket, his eyes fixed on Zilocke's back. He sends his arm back and I grab for him, shoving and pulling in an effort to get to his weapon. Unfortunately his reactions are quicker and the dagger has already left his hand and it's headed straight for Zilocke.


	9. Chapter 9 - It's Twins

Peter Pan's reactions are incredibly quick but Zilocke has Sage on his side. The dagger halts in mid-air before falling to the ground. Sage is on her feet and her palm is outstretched, a green light bouncing around her fingers. A silence fills the room, the only noise coming from the dagger meeting the hardwood floor. I find myself holding my breath and the calm that goes through me is short-lived. In the next moment there is a flurry of action. Zilocke is shouting at Peter, pulling some sort of weapon from his robe, and Sage is approaching Peter on the offence. Peter's arm moves out for me protectively but he's too forceful and I hit my head on the wall behind me. Pain runs from my neck all the way down my spine and the sound of Zilocke shouting goes muffled. Emmeline is on the side lines shouting for everyone to calm down. Suddenly Sage is at Peter's neck, with the sound of electrical volts coming from her palms. I even begin to feel pangs of pain in my chest, where Peter's arm is placed. Peter's strong arms move away from me and to Sage's body in an attempt to pry her off of him. Zilocke steps forward, slides his arm around Sage's waist and pulls her off of Peter. I find that I've slid down the wall and am sat on the ground in confusion, my hand on the back of my head.

"Lena!" Erupts from Emmeline as she shoves the bodies aside to get to me. She crouches down in front of me and beyond her the others have a considerable amount of space between them and they're looking my way.

"Focus on me, alright?" She says, looking into my eyes. At first I don't understand why she's so concerned but when I get a blurred glimpse of myself in her shiny necklace I notice jet black eyes staring back at me.

"If you go harpy you're going to burn this house down and cook us all. Focus on that for me, okay?" She says, her hands on my arms cautiously. I shake my head in an attempt to clear the fuzziness of my thoughts and I allow her to help me to my feet.

"I'm not going to turn- I think the shock just confused my body a bit." I say. A few pairs of eyes glare at Sage and she furrows her eyebrows before looking to the floor.

"If he hadn't have tried to kill my father I wouldn't have needed to use that spell!" She says, casting an angry look at Peter. Who I know notice seems to be pinned to the wall with some sort of invisible ropes. Peter looks around darkly, seemingly unfazed by our discussion.

"He's not himself. The island is getting to his head." I say, pointing out the vacancy of his stare. "He's been losing himself ever since we got here."

"Well that's too bad because none of you can leave yet, that decision is up to the Elders." Zilocke responds.

"Let me talk to them, I'm sure I can convince them otherwise." Emmeline says.

"We only have a brief window of opportunity to reach them and it's not for another three days." Zilocke replies.

"What the hell kind of system is that? This isn't the middle-ages- surely we've evolved beyond a raven messenger." I say.

"On this island we may as well as be in the middle-ages." Emmeline says with an eye roll.

"Hey! It's not easy to get electrical appliances working here- you should be grateful you're not living in a tent and growing your own dinner." Sage snaps.

"I'd rather sleep in a pig sty than have to live with you." Emmeline retorts quickly.

"That's enough." Zilocke roars, silencing our bickering. "Pan will stay there overnight as punishment and the rest of you will make sure you've eaten and then go to sleep, I've had enough of your arguing." He says, aiming this last statement at Emmeline and Sage.

"Oh you did _not_ just send me to my room." Emmeline begins, walking towards the front door. "In case you've forgotten, I'm not your daughter- those two are." She points towards Sage and I. "I'm going to see the beach." She finishes, letting the door slam behind her. This leaves the rest of us in silence, for Sage, Zilocke and I it's the awkward kind and for Peter it's the dazed and trapped kind.

"So I suppose we should talk about this then." Zilocke says.

"Oh now you're up for a chat?" I ask in annoyance. "Well no thank you, I've decided I'm done for the night." I say, heading down the hallway to my bedroom. As I pass Peter he mumbles something unintelligible and his fingers stretch out in an effort to get to me. I stop to look at his defenceless state and I move my eyes over to a still angry-looking Sage. They stay silent as I head back to the dining table to pick up the potion I had knocked over and I uncap it to feed it to Peter. He drinks it willingly and Zilocke steps forward in wonder as to what I'm doing.

"Release him from your magic. I assume this potion will place him to sleep for a few good hours, he'll be in my room so I can watch over him." I say, looking up at Zilocke.

"I don't think so." He says, shaking his head with furrowed eyebrows.

"If you really don't trust him then chain him to the window and I'll stay out of his reach. I'm not going to let up until I know for sure that he's not in danger." I cast a glance to Sage who purses her lips and walks off to sit on the couch. Zilocke gives up and allows me to lead the very sleepy Peter down the hall to my bedroom. Peter is then secured in one corner of the room with the same invisible magic and I move off to rest on the bed. As I do so Zilocke tries to speak to me again.

"Maddalena, about this whole situation... it's a lot more complicated than you may think." He begins.

"I already told you I don't want to hear it right now." I say, sliding under the covers. Zilocke remains at the end of my bed.

"I don't know what you've heard but I wasn't with your mother when she passed away. I wasn't given the chance to save her." He says, pausing for me to respond. I stay silent, facing away from him on the bed.

"I knew she was pregnant but the Elders told me that our child died with her- at the hand of the witches." He pauses again and I remain silent. Though this time I feel the weight of him sitting on the end of my bed. "Five years later I heard of an anomaly in a witch coven near where I was travelling. They had a set of twins among them but only one was showing signs of magic... the other appeared almost completely human. I knew this particular coven were responsible for the death of the woman I loved and so I wanted nothing to do with them. I had previously sought revenge and it didn't end well." He stops and I feel a stinging in my chest.

"What happened then?" I ask him, still facing away.

"Other business forced me to go to this coven anyway and speak with their leader. I had just begun working as a mercenary at the time and we were settling a deal. Next thing I knew they brought in these two toddlers- with the faces of angels and the same eyes and hair of my sweet Arabella. I knew you were mine immediately. I convinced the coven leader to let it slip that she knew that one of the babies had the blood of a Veela-" He pauses as I cut him off.

"And so you took home precious Sage and left me there." I say, turning around to look to meet his eyes.

"Lena, it wasn't like that." He says with seriousness. "I knew Sage wouldn't last in the human world because she wouldn't be able to hide her powers. But the only hint of difference you had was what your mother had. You had a stare that could enchant- even before you were able to develop the charm. I put you in the human world because I knew there you would have freedom and happiness. I didn't want to let you go but I would have been selfish to keep you from a better life."

"A better life? My true life is in a mansion with money and power and fame as a princess. How is living in ignorance as a weak human better than that?" I ask, sitting up against the head board.

"Your current life is duties and obligations and being told what to do and when to do it. How is this more free than when you were living in the city? I've been watching you, Lena, I've watched you grow up your whole life and I know when you're happy and when you're not. As a human you didn't run the risk of turning into a beast and you weren't told who to marry or what to do with your life. I believe that as your father, I made all the right decisions."

"Don't call yourself that." I feel anger within me but I can't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. "A father is someone who's there for you when you need him. He loves you unconditionally and you love him back equally. He's someone that picks you up when you're down and scares away your nightmares when you're a kid. You are simply the man who got my mother pregnant. You're not my father, now get out." I say sternly. Zilocke looks like he's frustrated but there's something else mixed in. It seems that he's frustrated because he's upset and he's not used to being upset. He stands from the bed and I tear my eyes off him before moving them to look out the window.

I lie there in bed for what feels like forever. The sun sets and casts long shadows on the room. When I feel my eyelids becoming heavy, I hear a noise coming from the corner of the room. I sit up and notice that Peter is stirring. I slide out of bed and walk over to sit near him. He squints his eyes open at me before looking around.

"Get me free, love." He says in a quiet voice. I smirk and shake my head.

"You know I can't do that." I say, leaning forward to run my hand through his hair. He places his hand over mine on his head.

"I'm sorry, I'm not going to hurt you again. Just please let me out of these chains." He says, moving his foot where he's invisibly bound up.

"No." I say gently, moving my hand away from his head. He quickly catches it and pulls me to face him. I brace myself for hostility but instead he looks at me like a wounded animal.

"Then just lie with me?" He asks. I bite my lip and glance to the door. I can see light seeping through the crack at the bottom and from further away in the house I hear footsteps and muffled voices. I get up to drag the blanket off the bed and bring some pillows down for us. Peter accepts his pillow but he's more interested in getting his arms around me. I barely finish pulling the blanket over us when he takes my upper body and gently but firmly presses me against him. I can smell the sweat of his neck and back, as well as a hint of dirt and blood. Strangely, though, I don't mind it. I feel his lips going over my forehead, down my ears and then to my neck. He's smelling me, breathing in my scent, like he did the first ever time he held me. It was when I was trying to escape him when I first came to Neverland. When I think back to who he was then I don't feel love or affection. I remember how evil he was but I know good he is now. Besides, who am I to judge evil? I'm capable of murder if I just get stressed enough. I feel his hand sliding under my clothes, his fingers drag along the bareness of my midriff and I have to place my hands over his to stop him.

"Can't you just lie with me?" I ask in a whisper. He stops and I feel his eyes on me. I don't know if his reckless side is going to come through or not so I brace myself. His fingers tense up but he settles beside me and puts his arms around me again.


	10. Chapter 10 - Returning Home

**Chapter 10**

I'm awoken in the morning by the sound of Sage roughly pushing my door open. I squint my eyes to the bright morning light that's fallen on my face and Sage looks at me judgementally.

"Where is he?" She asks in annoyance. I glance to my side and notice the empty space beside me. I sit up and look around the room.

"You've done it this time." She says, turning and letting the door slam behind her. I move to my feet and hurry down the hall. When I reach her in the dining room she's already talking to Zilocke and blaming me for Peter's escape.

"Calm down, Sage. I'm the one who released him." He says, a mug full of steaming coffee in his hand.

"What? When?" I ask, feeling embarrassed at the thought of Zilocke seeing Peter and I holding each other as we slept.

"Early this morning. We had a chat about his current mental state and decided it's time for him to spend some time alone." He responds.

"Yes, I'm sure _both_ of you were happy with that decision." I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Zilocke looks up at me with careful, watching eyes.

"He can't return here as I've put a barrier around the cabin. This will last until the day after tomorrow when we can contact the Elders." He says.

"That's not going to affect anything, you know she'll just leave the cabin and meet up with him somewhere." Sage says, her English accent getting on my last nerve.

"I've already considered that, Sage." Zilocke says, his eyes moving back to me. Sage pauses and looks to me in realisation of something that I've clearly missed. I look between them before widening my eyes. I quickly leave the room and walk for the front door to swing it open. My foot moves over the threshold of the door way but I'm stopped in my path. I run into some sort of invisible barrier. I can see beyond the front porch but when I press my hands against where the door would be I feel something pushing back against my skin. It feels like a wind pushing constantly in my direction. I step back into the dining room to see Sage with a smug expression. Zilocke appears braced as he can predict the verbal lashing he's about the receive.

"It's on all the exits to the house, even the windows." He adds quickly but sternly.

"You can't keep me prisoner here, I am not under your jurisdiction." I say in warning. Behind me I hear footsteps coming from the porch and into the house. I glance behind me to see Emmeline walking freely through the front doorway.

"I see you're all at each others throats again." Emmeline says, casting a glare at us.

"What makes you think I won't go harpy and tear the walls from the floors? I'll make my own exit through the roof." I warn, leaning against the wall.

"I've considered that as well." Zilocke adds, nodding to my chest. I look down to my shirt and notice a black ink on my skin, sitting over where my heart is. I tug my shirt aside slightly to take in the full sight of the rune tattooed to me.

"What the hell is this?" I ask, standing straight.

"I have to take precautions, Lena. It's only temporary but it can't be removed by anyone but me." He says. I feel ready to scream but I'm beaten to it by Emmeline, who has her jacket pulled aside revealing her own matching tattoo.

"You put one on me as well!?" She asks, wide-eyed and angry.

We all suffer through ten minutes of arguing and knocked over furniture before we each escape to our own space. Emmeline storms off to her room and I do the same to mine. I lie on my bed and watch my bedside alarm clock tick away the hours. I drift in and out of miserable naps until the hours tick over to the afternoon. When I wake up I glance over to the untouched nest of blankets and pillows in the corner. I'm caught in my day dream when I hear a noise on the window. I get up and draw the curtains aside, throwing the window open. Peter stands with pebbles in his hand.

"Hey there." He says, dropping the rocks to the ground.

"I'm afraid there'll be no sneaking out as I'm grounded." I say with a smirk.

"That's too bad, I think I just got my head levelled out." He says, returning my smirk.

"You could always sit by my window and whisper sweet nothings from afar." My lips curl into a flirtatious smile.

"God, I want to kiss you right now." He says with serious eyes, walking towards the window.

"Careful, I don't know what it will do-" I say, pausing when he's able to place his fingers over the window ledge. We both look down at his fingers and he boosts himself up, climbing in through the window. I stare at the window frame in wonder, running my fingers along it.

"Looks like the warden has a blind spot." He says, not moving his eyes off of me. He takes my hand and perches on the windowsill.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He says, sliding his legs out the window. I try to move forward with him but the same forcefield prevents me from leaving. I step back and fold my arms.

"This doesn't make any sense, it doesn't seem like Zilocke to make a mistake. Especially one so obvious..." I say, running a hand through my hair. Suddenly I'm lifted from the ground as Peter murmurs in my ear.

"Who cares?" He asks, pulling me to his chest and walking me over to the bed. I let out a laugh and wrap my arms around him, moving my lips to his.

–

The next couple of days pass quickly. Peter hides in the morning from Zilocke's morning patrol and I avoid speaking to any of them. I spend my afternoons locked away in bed with Peter and I enjoy every minute of it. All the worries of our real lives fade away and I forget any duties I have at the Aerie. I'm running my fingers gently through Peter's hair when three sharp knocks indicate a surprise patrol from Zilocke.

"It's time, Lena. We can contact the Elders." He says. Peter and I break apart and Peter exits through the window. I straighten my hair and clothes in the mirror before opening the door.

"Before we do, I want to talk to you." He says, walking in to the room and looking around.

"What is it now?" I ask him, shutting the door.

"I know Pan has been staying in here." He says, looking at the mess of blankets on the bed. I straighten my posture and my mouth gapes slightly.

"Oh." I say. He nods slowly,

"I found out Sage has been poking holes in my barrier around the house." He says, turning to face me, his hands in his pockets.

"Why would she do that?" I tilt my head, unsure why Sage would do something nice.

"It's out of spite. She's not taking the news well either." He says, moving over to sit on the chest at the end of the bed. I join my hands together and look to the window, feeling slightly awkward. After a moment Zilocke continues.

"I don't want you with him because he's no good." He says, looking up at me. I smirk and shift my weight to my other leg.

"You really can't decide that for me." I say, seriousness in my voice.

"I know I must still seem like a stranger to you, Maddalena, but I wasn't lying when I said I've watched you your whole life. I was always there in the background, looking out for you." He says.

"Oh really? Well then what about when I was taken to Neverland? Where were you then?" I cross my arms.

"I lost you for a short while, I admit, but that doesn't mean I forgot about you. I started my work on getting a portal as soon as you were taken." He says. I shake my head and sigh.

"I was wondering if you would consider coming with me when we get back?" He asks, looking up at me intently.

"You're asking me to run off with you and Sage rather than becoming a queen?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Lena, you're not going to be their queen. I won't allow you to become their pawn like Arabella was." He stands up when he says this. His tone isn't aggressive but it's weary.

"Okay, now we're done with this conversation." I say, moving to the door and throwing it open.

"Lena, stop running away when I try to talk to you." He says, walking towards me.

"I don't 'run away'. And this isn't even talking, this is just you telling me what to do." I say, defensively. Zilocke goes to reply but he pauses when Emmeline clears her throat to get our attention.

"We have visitors." She says. Zilocke walks past her and heads back towards the entrance. I follow him through the house and out to the front where the Elders are standing in front of a portal. Emmeline is at my side when the Elders walk towards us, ignoring Zilocke and Peter who are off to the side.

"Come with us, the issue has been sorted and we need our princesses back." One of the men says.

"What about our luggage?" Emmeline asks, walking with the Elder as he leads her to the portal.

"They'll be collected for you." The same Elder promises. I begin to walk towards the portal but I'm stopped by someone tugging on my arm. Peter pulls me to his side firmly.

"Not this time." He says, looking at me with seriousness in his eyes. I purse my lips as I look up to him.

"I'm not letting you go again, Lena. If you want to be a queen and rule a whole race then you do it, if you want to live in New York and live as a human then you do it... but I won't let you go if I don't have a place at your side while you do." As he finishes another Elder walks up to him and looks at him sternly.

"Get you hand off her, son." The Elder says, grabbing Peter's arm. Instinctively I reach for Peter and pull him to my side again.

"No you get your hands off him. He's your princesses' boyfriend for god's sake." I tell the Elder. The Elder looks displeased as I move my hand down to hold Peter's and we walk into the portal together, meanwhile Peter looks ecstatic.

–

As soon as we cross through the portal the high winds have torn Peter and I apart so we're no longer holding hands. I walk out onto the courtyard of the mansion and see Emmeline and William passionately kissing each other by the doorway. William has his arms tightly wound around Emmeline and she has her hands firmly gripped in his hair, pulling herself closer to him and holding him in place like a bareback jockey on a stallion. I can't help but widen my eyes as I watch them in a daze. I'm so busy watching them that I barely notice Felix has moved up next to me and pushed Finn into my arms.

"He missed you." Felix says with a half-smile. I blink down at the blonde cherub baby in my arms. He's drooling on my shirt but his smile reveals two tiny teeth growing on his gums. The sight of it causes me to smile as well.

"I could get used to holding someone so tiny." I say, moving my lips to kiss along Finn's forehead. Finn squeals in delight and he wriggles around in my arms.

"Careful Felix, she might take him away from you." I hear Peter say from my side. I feel Peter's arm slide around my shoulders and notice the surprise on Felix's face.


	11. Chapter 11 - The Beast and I

"Well if it's Lena, I'm happy to share." Felix says, his eyes on Peter. His hand slides up to my shoulder and he steps closer to kiss Finn on the forehead. I bite my lip and move my eyes carefully to Felix.

"Felix..." I begin, unable to finish as Peter has chimed in.

"I'm not." He says, a serious expression on his face. Felix looks up at him in confusion.

"Peter and I are together now." I tell him steadily. He glances to me and then back to Peter.

"Well I'm happy for you." He says after a moment. I hand Finn back to him and he seems to notice my disbelief.

"Really, I am... Lena knows there's nothing I wouldn't do for her and Pan, you'll always be my brother." His lips curl at the side in a genuine grin and Peter smiles too. They shake hands and Peter pulls him into a careful hug, they have to lean over Finn who giggles at being sandwiched between them.

"Maddalena, come see the nurse, we'll have your injuries looked at." An Elder says from behind me, placing his hand on the small of my back to lead me away. I bring my bandaged hand up and wiggle my fingers, still feeling a sting from them.

"Lena, wait." I hear Zilocke call. The Elder continues to drag me away so I look over my shoulder and raise a hand.

"I'll speak with you later." I call, moving into the mansion. As I'm lead to the nurse I begin to consider how I want to approach this new situation with Zilocke and Sage. I consider my home to be with the other Veela in the aerie, but I can't imagine Peter will want to hang around here forever - I don't know what he'll do if I become high queen. Zilocke won't want to stay here any longer than he has to either, but I'm not quite ready to let him leave. We still have unfinished business. When we get to the spa room a Nyx is sitting on a stool in a white outfit. The Elder leaves us and the Nyx instructs me to lie in the hot herbal bath that's been prepared for me while he completes a healing ritual. I notice off to the side is the large rune-inscribed book that was read from when I was first christened. While he chants in a soft voice and runs some sort of cream over my bruises my mind is filled with questions about the future. Eventually they blur into nothingness and I give into the slumber.

–

"Lena, wake up." I hear Emmeline say, jolting me awake. Some of the bath water splashes out to the marble floor and I glance around frantically.

"I just wanted to let you know that you won. Congratulations." She says. I rub my eyes and she hands me a robe as I step out of the bath. I cover myself and look to the doorway where some luggage bags sit.

"Won what?" I ask.

"Everything. The throne, the crown, the title. I don't want to be matriarch, I resigned." She says, sliding on some silk gloves and turning to walk to the exit. I hurry along beside her.

"What do you mean? You've wanted this since you were born, what happened?" I ask, stopping as she does to pick up her luggage.

"I can't say much, I'm not even allowed to be telling you this. I have to go." She says, stopping to dig into her pocket.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, warning bells going off in my head. From her pocket she withdraws the Queen's Jewel and holds it out for me. I open my palm and she places it in, closing my fingers over it. She leans in close to me and looks at me dead in the eye.

"Get as far away as you can." She utters. I hear footsteps approaching us fast and look up to see William, dressed to go out. He pull me into a hug and kisses my forehead.

"Good luck, we love you." He says, picking up Emmeline's luggage and placing his hand on the small of her back. Emmeline gives me a half-smile to show that she means it and it's then that I know this is serious.

"Will someone just tell me what's going on?" I call to them. They ignore me as they walk hurriedly down the hall and disappear through the door. As soon as they do, a door open in the hall to the left of me and the Nyx nurse and an Elder walk through. Their eyes fall on me and they walk towards me, the Nyx utters something in a low tone to the Elder.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"Did you enjoy your healing?" The Elder asks.

"Will you tell me what's going on?" I say, sternly this time. The Elder sighs and looks around us.

"I suppose Emmeline has already told you." He says.

"That she's resigning? Yeah, I gathered." I say, the Nyx rolls up my robe sleeves and inspects the bruises on my arms. They're vaguely in the shape of fingers and I'm reminded of when Peter almost lost his mind and attacked me on Neverland.

"More importantly, that you're becoming our queen. Why don't you get dressed and come to the dining room? We'll all sit down and discuss your future." He says, beginning to turn away.

"And you'll tell me why Emmeline left in such a rush?" I call after him. He turns back to me and nods, an insincere smile on his face. I sigh as the heavy door closes behind him. The Nyx at my side continues to look at my bruises.

"Looks like the cream couldn't lift those." I say with a nod to them. He looks to me with concern.

"I'm sorry, Queen Flitwick, but I have to ask... that Peter Pan that went with you to Neverland... he didn't violate you did he?" The Nyx asks, genuine worry on his face.

"Dear god, no. Do you really think I would allow that to happen?" I pull my arm away from him and roll down my sleeves. "And also, that man is the Queen's boyfriend... I don't want anyone starting nasty rumours about him, am I clear?" I say, pulling my best expression of superiority. He looks to the floor quickly but responds.

"Forgive me again, but... is it really wise to claim a non-Nyx as your partner? As Queen you do have the responsibility of encouraging only Veela-Nyx relationships... lest our race be cross-mixed." He finishes, not looking at me. I feel odd saying it but the anger that comes over me seems to force the words out,

"Remember your place." I hiss. He backs away and continues his apologies until I've left the hallway. I quickly dress in something Cassiopeia or Emmeline would have worn and I put effort into my hair and make-up. My heart is leaping but I'm not sure if what I'm about to go through with is the right choice. Am I really capable of being queen of all these people? I leave my room and the mirror behind before I can talk myself into running away. When I get to the dining room, all the Elders are sat around one end. There is one chair at the opposite end set up for me. As I approach the table all the men stand from their chair and bow their heads for me. They continue standing until I've sat down.

"You look radiant tonight, Queen Maddalena." One of the Elders chimes. It feels odd to hear compliments from them, considering I've spent the last couple of years taking their orders and being criticised. A server Nyx walks in and places a steaming mug of something green in front of me. I scrunch my nose up to is when it's scent hits me.

"It's good for you, my queen. It will settle you." The Nyx assures me. I take a drink from the mug and when the concoction slides down my throat I can almost feel it in my stomach area, swirling around. It's definitely doing something to me. I place the mug down and look across the table at one of the Elders looking at me.

"Finish it." He says, almost sternly. I'm so used to taking their orders that my hand reaches out for the mug and I gulp down the rest, feeling a tingle go down my spine.

"Now we can begin!" The same Elder says. "As you know one of the pressing matters to take care of is the situation with the witches. They grow in number every day while the Veela population dwindles." The Nyx places a map down in front of me that points out where all the Aeries are situated.

"Of course we will have a celebration soon where you can meet the matriarchs of each region," Another Elder chimes in,

"They may have a high station there but they all answer to you."

"We believe an easy way to fix the population numbers is if our high queen acts as an example of a prosperous family." One of them says. I raise an eyebrow, pushing the map aside. The drink by this point has churned in my stomach and I'm feeling very nauseated.

"So you're saying you want me to have lots of children?" I ask them. The same Elder that addressed me before responds,

"Yes. But only with a suitable Nyx to ensure that the children are pure-blood."

"We already have suitors lined up for you to meet." Another Elder says with enthusiasm.

"Hold on," I raise my hand, "This isn't acceptable, you can't simply choose who I marry and have children with. Next you'll be telling me what to name my kids."

"Of course we're not going to name your children for you, my queen, we simply have suggestions. For example, your grandmother's name was Adaline. We all agreed that that would be a fine name for the heir." I open my mouth to protest but have to close it, afraid that I'm going to throw up. What is this drink doing to me?

"The healer informs us that you will be able to conceive as soon as your current situation is dealt with." One of the voices announces. I can't tell who it came from though, as a sharp pain has hit my abdomen.

"What situation?" I ask through a pained voice as I push myself from my seat.

"That bastard baby, of course." The same man says.

"Siegfried!" An Elder says sharply. My pain subsides for only a moment so I look back up at them. They've stood to their feet but they don't seem surprised to see me in pain.

"What does he mean?" I ask, my lips turning into a scowl as my heart sinks. The Elders remain silent before one of them eventually speaks up.

"We couldn't take the chance that the heir is more human than Veela or Nyx." He says, in a tone that says, 'I'm sure you understand.' My insides begin to feel like death and I become suddenly aware that there's a very good reason for that.

"Am I pregnant?!" I call, my talons scratching into the hardwood of the dining table. Most of the Elders back away quickly, in fear that I will go harpy.

"Well not for long. I promise that the pain will pass, my queen, but please calm down." One Elder pleads. I hear another speak in a low tone to him.

"She can't transform, we took care of that." He says in an assured tone. And he's right- I've never felt so much pain, anger, loss and betrayal before in my life. But every time the fire threatens to ignite within me and turn me into a beast, something else calms it and forces me to sit back and allow this evil to happen to my child. I feel the tears streaking down my face and I'm reminded of when Cassiopeia was telling me how Veela are naturally very protective of their children. I feel the cool marble of the floor on my face and find that in my haze I've sunken to the ground to accept defeat.

Suddenly I hear a humming in my ears. When I got dressed I placed the Queen's Jewel around my neck and now it sits in front of my eyes on the floor and sings to me. It's pink hue seems to blind me. I reach out for it and my fingers curl over it. As soon as I do, a shock of energy runs through me, like I've been hit by a lightning strike. The fire picks up and I feel my wings break through my back. One of the Elders lets out a scream and I'm already on my feet, jumping onto the table and conjuring a fireball in my hand. This time isn't like the others; usually when I transform I'm not in the moment- I can't control my actions and I usually won't remember what I've done. In this moment though, the blind rage is welcomed and I force the balls of fire towards the men to envelop them. The beast and I are in unanimous agreement- these men will die and I will be the one to kill them.


	12. Chapter 12 - Allies No More

**Chapter 12**

Once I'm tired I slink back against the wall and feel myself moving closer to the ground. My wings fold towards my back and shrink inwards, as do my talons. My skin fades from grey to their usual tone and my legs give out from below me. The Great Dining Hall is filled with fire and the sounds of crackling, and falling pillars and roof segments. The doors are within my view and I notice a purple hue smothering them before they're blown off their hinges and forced to the ground. Sage walks through the door way, stepping over the rubble she's created. She quickly scans some of the lifeless bodies of the Elders on the floor before cursing and sending her palm out towards the dining table in the middle. She sends a bolt of red light towards it and it's flung at the far wall, revealing another body underneath. A long grey beard is poking out from the robe and she steps over the body, not bothering to inspect it. Suddenly her eyes meet mine and I can tell she's spotted me. My naked body is blackened with soot and bruises.

"She's here!" She calls over her shoulder, running towards me. She crouches down in front of me and widens her eyes at the necklace still hanging around my neck.

"Looks like we're more alike than I thought." She says, moving her hands towards me. I moan, and she hushes me, running her hand over my arms, her magic causing me to feel slightly better. She places her hand on my stomach and looks down at me wide-eyed.

"What did they do to you?" Her voice has a hint of sadness. Over her shoulder I see Zilocke rush into the room and run towards us. Sage backs away for him to reach down and lift me into his arms. I moan as I try to get the words out to him. I need him to know that I'm losing someone incredibly important to me. Zilocke carries me towards the door and Sage walks ahead of us, protecting our group from any falling structures or fires that block our passage. We finally get to the courtyard and Felix's face appears before mine.

"Are you alright Lena?" He asks, removing his jacket and placing it over me. I turn my head to the sound of Finn crying to see Laura holding him with a look of concern. She doesn't appear too worried about me but she's clearly upset that Felix is so distressed.

"Give her to me, we need to get out of here." I hear Peter say, walking towards Zilocke to take me from his arms. He looks around the area and I notice many of the Veela are rushing out of the building with surprised expressions. I assume it's only a matter of time before they find out that the Elders are dead and that I'm the one who killed them. Zilocke steps back, moving me away from Peter's reaching hands.

"There's something wrong, she's not healing right. Besides, she's safest in my arms, so I can heal her." Zilocke replies before turning to walk over to Laura. When Laura notices Zilocke walking to her she furrows her eyebrows and pulls Finn closer to her chest.

"My daughter is dying. I need you to help us." He says, his stern tone masks the fact that he's pleading for me.

"I owe you nothing." She says, stepping back from him. I hear Felix close by.

"Laura. Please." He asks her. She looks from him to Zilocke and rolls her eyes before handing Finn to Felix. My eye lids get heavy and at this point the darkness takes over.

I wake up on a hardwood floor. My torso is propped up on someone's lap and when I squint my eyes open I see Peter running his hand through my hair, looking towards my midriff. Zilocke, Sage and Laura are seated in a circle around me and have their hands joined as they chant. My whole body feels numb except for the feeling of heaviness on my stomach. The Queen's Jewel is sat there, shining brightly. Peter's eyes meet mine and he half-smiles to me.

"Stay strong, my Lena." He whispers, kissing me on the forehead. As he leans back he looks to the jewel on my belly-button.

"It'll be okay." He utters. As soon as he does I feel something odd inside of me. The feeling is so powerful that my eyes roll back and I fall into unconsciousness.

–

Before I open my eyes I run my hands along the soft surface below me. I roll to my side and bury my face in the pillow underneath my head. I feel something heavy move over my hip and open my eyes to see Peter's sleeping face in front of me. He's wrapped his arm around me in his sleep and pulled me closer to him. I remember what he said to me when I found out I lost our child.

"It's going to be okay." I whisper, pressing my lips to his cheek. The sudden sound of a baby crying jerks me to attention so I roll out of bed, careful not to wake Peter. I've been dressed in grey sweatpants that are too short for me and a black long-sleeved top. Thumping against my chest as I move is the glowing Queen's Jewel. I look around the dark room to notice I'm in a small bedroom. The walls are white with basic art and there is a desk pushed in the corner. The alarm clock on the bedside table reveals that it's 6am. I creep to the door and slowly open it, peeking out into a narrow hallway. The sound of the baby crying drones on, so I walk softly towards it. When I open the door to a nursery my eyes meet Finn's. He's red-faced and tears streak down his cheeks.

"Shhh, it's okay." I whisper, placing my hand gently on his head. My other hand moves over my belly, I have to bite my lip to hold back tears. He blinks away his tears enough to look up at me but the crying doesn't stop. I begin to move my hands down to his sides to pick him up but stop when the door behind me opens.

"I've got him." Laura says, a bottle of milk in her hand. I step back for her as she walks to pick up her son, cradling him in her arms and feeding the bottle to him. Finn's cries fade to soft little whimpers and then to silence as he determinately sucks down the milk. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing comes out. Laura looks up at me and has the same expression.

"Have you spoken to your father yet?" She asks eventually. For a moment I'm confused, unsure of who she's referring to.

"Oh, Zilocke. Um, no I haven't. Should I?" I ask.

"Yes, you should." She says, rocking Finn side to side. I look down at the infant in her arms and inwardly curse. Why does someone like her get a baby but I don't? I tear my eyes of Finn and head for the door. I stop to look behind me at the nursery. There are blue elephants painted onto the walls and almost every surface is brightly coloured or plush. A dark thought creeps into my mind and takes me by surprise. The voice in my head is mine, but I sound cynical and deceiving.

'Maybe if you marry Felix you can have your own baby. Little Finn could be all yours.' The voice says. I widen my eyes and feel a surge of energy from the jewel. I have to rip it from my chest to prevent myself from going harpy again. Laura turns to look at me with wide eyes and I try to calm my heavy breathing. Laura looks at the jewel in my hand and then back at my face. I feel so guilty for the thought I just had that I leave without a word, closing the door carefully behind me. I slide the jewel into my pocket and walk back towards the guest room. When I push the door open, I see Peter standing shirtless and facing the window. He turns around and his smile grows.

"There you are." He hurries towards me and I give him a smile, opening my arms. He picks me up and I wrap my legs around his waist, kissing him firmly. He places a hand firmly on my belly and I lean back to look at him.

"And there you are." He says, smiling at my belly. I go silent. He looks back up at me with his smile and I unwrap my legs from him to slide down.

"I didn't lose the baby?" I ask, shocked. I'm nearly speechless. He shakes his head, keeping his smile.

"I guess I'm once again in debt to you father. If it weren't for him, Sage and Laura we wouldn't be able to start this new adventure together." He says, his hands moving to hold my sides gently.

"I'm going to be a mother?" I ask, all my emotions blurring into nothing but worry. I barely even notice that Peter has pulled me to sit on his lap as he sits on the bed.

"I do know one way I can start to repay my debt to Zilocke, actually." He says. I move my eyes to his, still stunned.

"Marry me?" He asks, still flashing his brilliant smile. I close my mouth and widen my eyes.

"Um-" I begin, cut off by a sharp knock on the door.

"One minute." Peter says, but my voice is firmer.

"Come in." I call. The door opens and Zilocke walks in, looking uncomfortable at the sight of us together. I stand up, off Peter's lap and he picks up his grey shirt from the floor and slides it on.

"We should have a discussion about what happened in the Aerie." He says. I nod briefly and walk over to the door, following him out. I don't look behind me but I hear Peter following behind. I sigh, glad to be out of that situation.

"So?" Peter's voice is low in my ear. I sigh and open my mouth to talk but, again, Zilocke cuts me off.

"Here seems fine." He says. We walk into a mid-sized lounge room and I see Felix sitting on an armchair. He smiles as he sees me and stands. I walk over and he pulls me into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay. And congratulations." He nods to my midriff. I smile.

"Thanks, I'm happy you're okay too." I say, turning to Zilocke.

"From what I remember, I imagine I caused a bit of damage?" I ask. Zilocke's expression is serious and he simply nods. I feel my heart sink so I back up to sit on the couch.

"Did I hurt any of the other Veela?" I ask.

"No. They're okay. You did, however, murder most of the High Court of your race." He says, sitting on an armchair and leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.

"I killed the Elders?" I ask.

"There are some survivors but they're injured. They're not injured enough to send some bounty hunters after you, though. They're angry, Lena." He says.

"You can't blame her, Zilocke, they were trying to cause her miscarriage. She went harpy and didn't know what she was doing." Peter says, walking over to sit beside me on the couch. He places a hand on my knee but I'm preoccupied with the dark voice that's come back in my head.

'You knew what you were doing. You meant every flame and every swipe of your talons.' The voice is so persistent that the words escape through my mouth.

"I meant what I did. I should have finished what I started." I say, surprising everyone, including myself. Zilocke's expression changes- he looks disappointed. I look to my side to see a fearful Felix and a worried Peter.

"But, I mean- Peter's right. They were trying to hurt me, the other Veela have to know that. They have to know that it was self-defence. The Elders were horrible too, the girls would agree with me on that." I say quickly.

"Even if they did agree with you, why would they side with a witch?" Sage asks, seemingly appearing from nowhere. I look up at her, wide-eyed, and she continues. "You were able to harness the power of the Queen's Jewel. That's how you turned harpy even with calming potion in your bloodstream. You have more witch in you than they would like." She says.

"She's right." Laura says, walking into the lounge room from the hall. "I've been getting calls from my coven non-stop asking about the Veela-Witch Queen, word is spreading." She says.

"Hold on." I say. "So the Witches don't trust me because I'm part Veela. But the Veela don't trust me because I'm part Witch? Who the hell is my ally in this?" Peter places his hand on mine.

"We are." He says. I shake my head and run my hand through my hair. The Jewel in my pocket emits a high pitch sound that gets louder as my stress increases, it's almost like it's trying to provoke me to go harpy. I move to my feet, reach into my pocket and hurl the jewel at the ground. Everyone goes silent as I do it. I sigh.

"I need a phone, I need to call Emmeline." I say, holding my hand out. Everyone stays silent and I move my eyes to Zilocke. He looks concerned.

"There's something you need to know, Lena." He says finally.


	13. Chapter 13 - Indecent Exposure

**Chapter 13**

"Emmeline and Aetius were last seen driving out of Linmoor. They had arranged for Emmeline's younger sisters to stay at a family friend's place a few towns over and that's where they were going- to pick up the girls." Peter says at my side.

"And?" I ask, turning to him.

"And that was about a week ago." He finishes. I blink for a moment.

"So they went missing? And I've been unconscious for a whole week?" I widen my eyes.

"Your body needed time to heal." Zilocke says, looking at my stomach. "Since you activated the necklace's powers a whole process has been started. The necklace will heal you but only if you're able to reciprocate. It gave you and your- well, my-..." He hesitates, unable to even say the word 'baby' or 'grandchild'."Well it healed all of you- and then some. And in return it will draw from your powers. It will seek out and live off your life force." He says.

"Though it seems without having had any practice honing your powers it's too much for you." Sage says, nodding to my hand. I hadn't even realised that I'd picked up the necklace again. My fist is curled around it tightly and it emits a bright, glowing light.

"I'm fine." I say quickly, sliding it into my pocket and sitting back down on the couch next to Peter. Who rubs my back comfortingly.

"So they got Emmeline and William." I say, joining my hands together in thought.

"I'm sorry, Lena." Felix says. I run my hand through my hair again.

"I think this is too much. I need to go-" I look down at the tracksuit pants that are too short for me.

"I need decent clothes and make-up and hair-care products. I just need to feel like myself again." I say, moving to my feet. No one follows after me but Peter when I walk down the hall to the guest room. He stays silent as he closes the door behind him while I rifle through the wardrobe. I start to groan when I realise none of Laura's clothes will fit me and I give up, flopping onto the bed and curling up.

"Come here." Peter says, lying down beside me. I shuffle towards him and place my head on his chest.

"Fine, but I swear- if you bring up the 'M' word again." I say in a quiet voice.

"I won't. I understand that this is hard for you. Just tell me what I can do to help you feel better." His lips murmur in my hair. A thought comes into my head that causes me to smile. I tilt my face up to him,

"You can come join me in the shower and help ex-foliate away a week of coma." I say. He smiles and moves to his feet, pulling me into his arms as he does.

"Sold." He says, walking off with me to the bathroom.

Once we finish our shower I sit on the bed in a towel and watch him rifle through his luggage. A knock on the door prompts me to walk over and investigate.

"I thought you could use some jeans and a top that actually fits you. Just until you buy your own." Sage says, holding out some clothes. I don't know what to say, we've never really had a real conversation. I nod and attempt a pleasant smile. Peter has put me in a good mood but it's effects are already dwindling.

"I appreciate this, really." I say. She lingers for a moment, obviously thinking of something else to say.

"Um, Father and I have rented out a place down the road where we can stay. This house is a bit too full." She says, not making eye contact with me. As I listen to her English accent I can't help but get lost in though. I study her facial features, it's just like looking in a mirror. I doubt she has the same effect on men as me but she's definitely pretty.

"We're going there now, I left the address on a note on the dining table if you'd like to stop by." She says, snapping me out of my daydream.

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." I reply.

"We'll come around often to check on you though, we're not just- leaving." She says slowly. I nod again.

"I figured. See you later then." I say. She turns and heads back down the hall. Peter walks up behind me, fully clothed, and kisses my neck. His damp hair drips on my shoulder.

"Take your time, I'm off to find Felix. Then I'll take you to buy something nice to wear." He promises, walking around me and pulling the door shut.

I take my time to dress, laying out the clothes Sage gave me and slowly applying make-up, drying and brushing my hair and moisturising my skin. I've just slipped my towel off when there are two sharp knocks on the door, knocks that resemble Peter's.

"Come in, darling." I call, not looking behind me.

"Lena, I just wanted to ask- Woah." Felix says, cut off and wide-eyed. When I turn around to notice it's not Peter I freeze. I quickly fumble for my towel and pull it in front of me but Felix's eyes are locked onto mine and the whole things feels like it's moving in slow-motion. Finally I secure the towel on my body and Felix is already back in the doorway.

"Sorry, I'll just- come back- uhh, later." He stumbles as he closes the door behind him and I'm still left wide-eyed like a deer in headlights. Crap. This will not end well. I quickly dress and walk back into the living area, looking around for someone. A flash of blonde hair through the window reveals that Felix is in the backyard. I hurry through the back door and walk over to the sandpit where Felix is building a sand-castle with Finn, who gurgles and just seems to sit there running his hands through the sand. Felix looks up at me and his expression changes to guilty very quickly.

"Felix, I think we should talk-" I begin, cut off when he shakes his head.

"I'm so sorry Lena, I should have let you know that it was me. I- uhm." He pauses.

"What?" I ask, tilting my head.

"I just wanted to ask how you got those scars on your back... they look like they were recent." He says. It takes me a moment to realise what he's talking about, I guess I never think about my wings.

"That's where my wings come from whenever I go harpy." I say, kneeling down to give my hand to Finn, who's reaching out for me.

"Doesn't that hurt?" He asks.

"Yes, but I never really remember the pain." I shrug. "So, lets just forget about what happened in there, okay?" I ask, giving him a small smile. Finn hands me a tiny plastic shovel to scoop some sand. I draw a circle around his little body in the sand.

"Yes, absolutely. I'm sorry- again." Felix says. I move to stand up straight, holding out the shovel to Felix. Felix isn't focused when he moves his hand up to take it from me and instead of grabbing the shovel he grabs my hand. He widens his eyes, looking back up at me, but doesn't remove his hand right away. He looks to my face and my heart jumps.

"Felix." I say, an undertone of warning in my voice. He grabs the shovel and rips his hand away, looking at the sand guiltily.

"Sorry. You should go inside, Peter's waiting for you." He says. I look down at Finn, deliberating if I should say something or not, nip this problem in the bud. I hear footsteps behind me and an arm is wrapped around my waist.

"Ready to go?" Peter asks in my ear sweetly. I keep my eyes on Felix as I nod, Felix doesn't look up at us.

"See you, Felix. Bye little one." Peter says, letting go of me to ruffle Finn's hair. Felix nods but doesn't move his eyes on either of us. Peter takes my hand and we walk back through the house and to the front, where a black car is waiting. I try to push Felix from my mind, there are too many problems on it now and all I need is to unwind.

"Where did you get this?" I ask, walking around to the driver's side.

"It's Zilocke's, he lent it to us. Well- you. He lent it to you. Can I drive?" He asks, swinging the keys around his fingers.

"You learnt to drive?" I ask, incredulous.

"You were off in Norway or wherever with the Vikings for about a year. I had to do something to entertain myself." He says. We swap sides and I slide into the passenger seat, sitting back as he expertly and smoothly starts the car and moves us off down the road. We drive for about half an hour before we reach the city-area of whatever town we're in. Peter pulls into the parking lot of a shopping complex and when I step out I inhale deeply. I've missed the sounds and smells of the city. The constant indecipherable chatter, the sounds of footsteps and the smell of petrol from all the cars. There's also that vague smoky smell coming from somewhere far off.

"I love that smile." Peter says, moving his hand into mine. I squeeze his fingers and smile down at our joined hands.

"The sexy rebel boyfriend is a hand-holder." I say with a smile. He simply smirks and we walk towards the elevators to take us inside.

–

We spend a good three hours of shopping. We visit all the high-fashion stores and Peter blankly follows me as I pick out clothes for him and I as well as beauty and hygiene products for me. We're sitting in the food court, eating chicken salads when I notice someone staring at me from far off. When I'm in public men and women will do a double take when they take in my features, but none usually stare at me for as long as this person seems to have been. I focus my eyesight, harnessing some of my Harpy side and zone in on the woman, studying her face. She removes her black sunglasses and takes off her fashionable hair scarf. Waves of blonde hair tumble down to her shoulders and I widen my eyes, recognising Emmeline. I stand so suddenly it causes the people sitting nearby to stare at me.

"Lena? Is everything okay?" Peter asks, sitting forward. I don't move my eyes off Emmeline.

"Wait here." I say, quickly moving off as I see Emmeline turn around and walk quickly towards an exit. She disappears through two doors and I pick up my speed, practically running. When I break through the doors I look around for that familiar blonde hair but notice no one. I suddenly feel like the dark voice inside of me is laughing. Finding amusement in my foolishness. Then warning bells begin to go off. I feel vulnerable, like I'm being watched. What if it was Emmeline and the Elders made a deal with her? Her freedom for my life? No, I can't be ridiculous right now. My hand moves over my stomach instinctively. The Elders already tried to take away the best part of me- before I even knew I had it. I feel myself break into a light sweat, I'm just standing here but the world around me is starting to spin. I get a pain in my stomach. What if Zilocke didn't heal the child properly? What if all this darkness in me is appearing because of the child? What if it lost everything that made it human and a demon harpy baby is going to claw it's way out of me? A hand on my should makes me jump, letting out a small scream and whipping my fist around to whoever the hand belonged to.

"Ow! Jesus Christ Lena!" Peter says, gripping his eyes and wincing in pain. "My face is still healing from the last bruise you gave me." I shake my fist out, it now red and aching.

"I'm so sorry, Peter." I say, moving my hands gently to his face to look at the damage.

"Oh my love, I'm so so sorry." I say again, looking at the puffiness around his eye already forming. He stands straight and curls his fingers around my hands on his face. He closes his eyes and tilts his head further into my grasp.

"This feels better." He says. I peck lightly on the side of his face and over his eyelid where I hit him. He slowly opens his eyes.

"Lena you're hot." He says, moving the back of his hand to my forehead. "Are you feeling okay?" He adds. The queasiness in my stomach settles and my stomach rumbles.

"No... I'm not. I think I need a-" I feel my lunch coming back up so I run towards the doors that lead back into the complex, in an effort to make it to the bathroom. I don't make it, unfortunately, and my new target is the brick wall next to some poor customer's car. I cough up violently and my eyes sting with tears. I feel my hair being lifted off my face and my back is rubbed gently. Once it's over I close my eyes and wipe my face, leaning against the clean part of the wall.

"Peter, I think the baby is evil." I blurt out, visions of my stomach being ripped from the inside out appearing in my head.

"I'm sorry, love, I'm afraid pregnancies often come with morning sickness. Or so I've heard." He says, not realising just how serious I am. "Come, I'll grab the bags and we'll get back to the car. You'll be home and in bed in no time."


	14. Chapter 14 - Sleepwalking

**Chapter 14**

On the drive home Peter plays a CD that he bought with old songs. The songs have a static-y crackle to them and they sound like they were originally played on a record player. Peter hums along to the lyrics, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Sometimes I forget how old you are." I murmur.

"I'm not that old." He shrugs. I lean back and put my feet up on the dashboard.

"Then tell me." I say, looking over at him.

"Why does it matter?" He asks, with a smirk.

"I'd like to know if one day you're going to look the same age as our child, I guess." I say. He looks over at me and then to my stomach briefly before moving his eyes back on the road.

"No, I won't. Since Zilocke took away my powers I've felt myself aging." He says, looking at himself in the rear-view mirror.

"Do you think you'll outlive me?" I ask, curious. He shakes his head with another smirk.

"I hope not." We sit in silence for another moment.

"I don't want to imagine my life without you alive in it... maybe we'll get lucky and you still have enough magic left in you to live as long as I will." I say. He shakes his head.

"I'm not from this realm so I know that while I'm here there's an expiry date somewhere along the line. But maybe you're right, maybe the magic will benefit me living as long as you. See, but if you choose not to marry me you'll never find out will you?" He says slyly. I laugh and stretch my arms out to wake myself up.

"What was your life like before I came to Neverland anyway? You weren't originally from there were you?"

"No, I'm from another realm. As for my life before Neverland it was mostly uneventful. The lead-up to the shadow recruiting me is one of my darker memories and I don't feel it needs to matter." He shrugs.

"Why not? You know all my dark secrets." I say.

"Mine are worse... and the person I was back then is someone I barely recognise. I got a flashback to that life when we were in Neverland a week ago when I attacked you. I'm not that person any more and that's why none of it matters, all that matters is who I am now." As he says this he moves his hand to hold mine as he drives. He squeezes my fingers and I smile down at our hands.

"I was thinking maybe that necklace can help with your morning sickness. It's supposed to heal you, isn't it?" He asks. At the mention of the Queen's Jewel I widen my eyes. How could I have been so dumb to have left it at the house? The evil voice in me is cursing. I have to clench my knuckles to stop focusing on it. It's okay... no one will take it, it's okay... the powers won't work on anyone else anyway...

"Lena?" Peter's voice rings like an echo in a cave. I snap back to attention and realise that I'm squeezing his hand.

"Is everything okay?" He asks. I quickly release his hand and flatten both my palms on my stomach.

"I think I'll just feel better when we're home." I say.

–

Peter seems confused but he doesn't bring it up again for the rest of the ride. I turn his old music back up for him to hum along to it and I drift in an out of sleep. We pull into the driveway of the barely discernible row of identical suburban houses. I open the door and step out of the car in a hurry, moving off to the front door.

"Bags." Peter calls, getting out of the car. I quickly turn back around and grasp the two groups of shopping bags Peter is holding out; before turning round again and going to the front door. I can't turn the door knob but thankfully Felix has seen us come up the drive and has opened the door. His eyes meet mine and I can tell he wants to talk to me. Right now, though, I have another agenda. I place the bags on the couch and move through to the dining room where I hear voices talking. Sure enough, Zilocke, Sage and Laura are crowded around the dining room table, looking at the bright pink jewel. The necklace is calling to me, further heightening my paranoia about it. Sage and Laura look up and notice me giving them a stare that could kill.

"You're back early." Zilocke says, turning around and noticing me staring at them. I walk forward without a word and snatch the jewel into my hand. The chain thumps against my fingers as it swings around and I shove it into my pocket. I've left the three speechless and wide-eyed.

"I don't feel well." I say eventually, turning around and walking off to the guest room. I hear footsteps following me and Zilocke's voice rings out calmly.

"Maddalena..." He says. I close the guest room door behind me firmly and bring the jewel out of my pocket, pressing it to my chest. I lean against the door and allow the sound of the jewel's calling to drown out the sound of Zilocke's knocking. With my free hand I guide the chain up over my head so the necklace is on me properly. I move the jewel to hide behind my shirt. Suddenly another feeling comes up and I have to open the door again in an effort to rush to the bathroom. Zilocke looks surprised again as I try to rush past him but this time he reaches out and grabs my arm, pulling me to face him.

"Just slow down for a moment." He says. I'm unable to hold back any longer and the front of Zilocke's cloak is hit with my vomit. He freezes and glances down at the mess. I step back and my breathing slows, I wipe my mouth and tilt my head back against the wall. My eyes tear to the sting of my throat.

"I'm sorry." I squeak.

"Maybe you should go lie down." He says, waving a hand over the vomit. A whoosh comes from his hands and his cloak is cleaned in an instant. I nod slowly, Peter and Felix stand at the end of the hall watching with concern. I glance over to them and Felix steps forward, moving to extend a hand to help. Peter places a hand on Felix's shoulder, however, and stops him.

"It's alright Felix, I'm sure you've already dealt with your fair share of pregnancy-induced sickness. I can handle this one alone." He says, walking ahead of him. Felix looks dissapointed and when his eyes meet mine he gulps, before turning around and walking to a suspicious-looking Laura. Peter walks to my side and Zilocke continues to study my face. I move into Peter's guiding hands but Zilocke stops us.

"Before you go..." He says, holding his hand out. "Lena, might I take a look at the jewel?" He asks. I open my mouth to instinctively protest but now that my head is clear and the jewel isn't shrieking I'm able to use better judgement. After all... it's just a jewel.

"I know it's yours, I promise I'll give it back." Zilocke says, calmly and carefully, as if he's cautious. I nod and move my hand to the chain to slide it off.

"Actually I think it's better if she holds onto it. I think right now she could use it's healing powers." Peter says, placing his hand over mine.

"I don't think that's the best idea." Laura calls from the end of the hall. I flick my eyes up and they settle on Felix's hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine." I say, my eyes meeting Felix's. "Peter's my fiancé. I trust him to make these decisions." I say calmly. Everyone but me seem surprised when I say it. My eyes move off of Felix's and I walk back into the room. Peter follows close behind and he shuts the door behind him. He closes the curtains so it's dark.

"Lay down and rest, fiancé. Even if it's not the pregnancy that's making you sick then your body still has to be unsettled. After all it did have to save our little one." Peter says, guiding me to lie down on the bed. I rest my head on the pillow and it feels nice to lie down. Peter crawls in beside me but as it's not yet night I suspect he'll be getting up as soon as I'm asleep. I close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of Peter running his hands through my hair.

–

I know I'm in a dream as soon as I open my eyes. There is a fog hanging around the room and dark shadows are hanging onto the wall, cursing at me. I slide out of bed and look around for Peter, who wasn't there beside me. I move to the bedroom door and swing it open, instead of opening to the hall it is the master bedroom. There is a couple rolling around passionately grasping at and kissing each other. At first I recognise it to be Peter and I, and the thought is nice- however odd the sight may be. When my eyes settle on the woman's arms, though, I notice runes dot along them. They roll over once again and her bare back reveals rune tattoos. This woman is not me- this woman is Sage.

"Get off of him!" I call, reaching out for her. As soon as my hands land on her shoulders the scene changes. I hear running water. I look down to see that I'm standing naked in waist deep water. The area around me is filled with mossy rocks, and sunshine through the trees. This is without a doubt the waterfall at Neverland. But if this is a memory then that means I'm not alone. Sure enough, gentle fingers run alone the V-shaped scars on my back. I feel a man's chest press against my back and his lips kiss along my neck.

"My poor little Lena. Always going through pain." He says. I know the voice and I know that this is not the man I'm supposed to be dreaming about. But really, it's just a dream... what harm can it do? I turn around and run my fingers through Felix's wet blonde hair. He smiles down at me and he pulls me into his arms so our torsos are pressed together. I move my lips up to his but he pulls away, letting me go. He walks backwards to where the waterfall meets the lake.

"Come here." He says, extending a hand for me. I smile to him and narrow my eyes flirtatiously. My head rings out, wrong, wrong... so wrong. I walk through the water towards him and the steam hits my face. Why is the waterfall water so hot? A loud voice wakes me up in the most unexpected place.

–

"Lena? Lena!" Felix calls. I snap my eyes open and realise that I'm no longer in bed. I'm actually in the master bathroom, my hand is gripped onto the shower door and a shocked looking Felix is standing under the running water. I look down at my pyjamas and then over to Felix's lack of clothes.

"What are you doing?" He asks, still shocked.

"Oh my god!" I shout, slamming the shower door shut in panic. The force is too much and the old shower frame breaks, causing the glass to shatter into many little pieces.

"Jesus Christ!" Felix shouts, covering his face and turning his body away from the glass. My breathing is heavy and I back up to the wall, looking for the door. The steam has fogged up the room, however, and all I can make out is a pile of towels. I reach for one and chuck it towards Felix, who has turned off the water and has carefully stepped over the broken glass on the floor.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry!" I say, grabbing another towel and throwing it at Felix.

"Lena!" He calls, having already tied the first towel around his waist the second just hits him in the face. The fog begins to settle and I move my eyes to the broken glass on the floor.

"I'll pay for that to be fixed. I swear-" I begin.

"Lena." Felix says again, to shut me up. His hair and body is dripping wet and his toned chest rises and falls to his breathing. I fix my eyes on his and my heart continues to pound in my chest, matching his. In the next moment we both reach out for each other. All thinking goes out the window and my fingers curl around his towel, pulling his torso to meet mine. His hands move to my arms and he presses me against the wall. Our lips meet and I strain my neck because of his height. His hands move down under my thighs and he picks me up, keeping my back pressed to the wall. I curl my legs around his waist and his towel falls to the floor, his wet body is dampening my clothes. Our lips kiss, pull and bite each other's desperately. We break apart to breathe and when we do my ears suddenly fix on the furious knocking on the door.

"Felix, what the hell was that noise? Unlock the door." Laura calls from the other side. I lower my voice to a whisper, though my breathing is still heavy.

"I'm a bad person." I say, my hands still resting on his shoulders.

"No you're not." He shakes his head, still clutching onto my body.

"Peter." I whisper. Felix rests his head on my shoulder as he steadies his breathing.

"Please don't say his name right now." He says.

"Laura." I say, rubbing my eyes in frustration. Felix snaps his head up.

"I never married her..." He says and pauses. "But you agreed to marry Peter." He adds with dissapointment. He doesn't say it as if it's a surprise, just as if it's a fact that he's forgotten. He lets my body go and my feet move back to the floor. He pulls up his towel and brings it back around his waist, before moving to the door. He opens it a crack but doesn't look at Laura on the other side.

"I accidentally broke the glass door, it's fine- stop shouting." He says, closing the door. Laura sounds angry from the other side.

"It sounded like you were talking to someone... just remember that it's **my **family paying for the expenses on this place." She says. I hear her walk away and I look down to my newly wet clothes. I look back up and Felix eyes are on my body.

"If you don't love her then why are you still with her?" I ask, folding my arms.

"If I leave her I fear she'll take Finn away from me. It would be easy for her to do with her family backing her up." He says.

"She wouldn't do that, she loves you too much." I say, shaking my head and reaching for a towel.

"Love can make you do stupid things." He says, looking at the ground. I nod, leaning back against the counter.

"What are we going to do?" I ask him. Felix looks at the bottom of his feet, where small shards of glass poke out and cause a small trail of blood. He sits on the edge of the bathtub and pulls out the glass without looking at me.

"We won't tell Peter." He says.

"We won't?" I ask. He shakes his head,

"You and Peter will move out and live with Zilocke and Sage, or at least get a place nearby- but not too close. And you and I will only speak directly to each other when we absolutely need to. We can raise our kids together because I don't want to lost Peter as a brother. And I'll just pray and hope that maybe one day, somehow, I'll fall out of love with you." He finishes, still not looking up at me. My eyes sting and I want to tear up.

"I don't want to lose you." I say. He looks back up at me.

"You won't. But if we don't make a change then I might try to hang onto the belief that one day we'll end up together." He says, his eyes steady.

"Why do you believe we won't?" I ask.

"Because I'm a human forced to live in a world of Witches, Warlocks and Veela. I never have and never will wield magic, and I'll die at the human age of eighty. The only things great I've done in my life are have Finn and have had the honour of knowing and loving someone like you."

"Someone like me?" I asks, a tear streaming down my cheek this time.

"Someone brave and smart and great. Someone powerful and capable of ruling worlds and amassing followers. Someone who will only ever end up with an equal to match them. Someone like Peter." I nod my head.

"I do love Peter, a lot... but you're not _just _a human. You're Felix." I shrug. "You're a huge part of my life. If it was you who the Gao witches took and chained up two years ago and not Peter, I still would have come after you. I wouldn't have stopped for anything- probably not even Peter." I move to sit beside Felix on the edge of the bath tub. I place my hand on his arm and he half-heartedly smiles, placing his hand over mine. Suddenly the door is busted open and Laura stands with her palms extended on the other side. A red light bounces around her fingers. Her eyes settle on us and I move to my feet quickly.

"I knew it!" She says, turning around and hurrying off. I look down at Felix in a panic. He looks up at me but doesn't move.

"She's going to tell Peter." He says, his voice full of defeat.


	15. Chapter 15 - Queen of the Rebels

**Chapter 15**

My body reacts before my brain can catch up. I'm already at Laura's side when she reaches the hallway and my hands move for her. My fingers close around her arm and shirt and I yank her back into the master bedroom, the door being slammed shut in the process. We've fallen to the ground and as I hold her to the ground the Queen's Jewel hangs down in front of her face. It dangles in front of her eyes and they fix on it for a moment in a trance. In our scuffle she has already initiated a spell and a pulse of energy runs from her palms to knock me off of her and into the wall.

"Stop!" Felix calls, running for us. Laura is on her feet again and my breathing is heavy. Laura brings her palms out and her lips move to chant a spell, so I send my hand out for her and the talons that have grown there swipe along her cheek. She shrieks and falls to the ground with a small trickle of blood landing on the beige carpet. Suddenly two arms wrap around me and my arms are pinned to my sides. Felix is on the floor next to Laura, checking if she's alright. I squirm in the arms that are holding me, an anger bubbles in my chest and it refuses to be ignored. Every muscle in my body wants to reach out and crush the witch before me. As my anger slowly wanes, the sound of Peter's whispering enters my ears.

"It's okay. Calm down, we're alright." He says. The sound of a baby crying makes it's way to us and Felix looks over at Peter in a panic. Laura moves to her feet again and looks at me darkly. There is a bleeding cut on her cheek. She steps towards me and I squirm again to get at her. Felix steps forward to pull her back and Peter keeps his arms around me tightly so I can't move. Laura is pulled back by Felix but not before she can yank the jewel away from me, causing the chain the break. I feel a hollowness take place in me when I watch the necklace go and it causes me to squirm even more. Felix pulls Laura back to the other side of the room to put a distance between us.

"What's going on?" Peter asks. I see Laura's lips move to form the words that could crush Peter and a voice appears in my head. It's my voice, and it's speaking cynically and murderously. _**Hurt **__her. Make her feel __**pain. **_Something within me clicks, and a great rush of energy is transferred out of me and towards the necklace. Before Laura can speak she lets out another shriek and throws the necklace to the floor. She looks at her hands and it appears that the necklace has burnt the skin where it sat. Peter loosens his grip on me in shock and I pull my arms free of him. I pick the necklace up from the ground and I give Laura a dark stare as I do. She stares back at me with wide, scared eyes. I turn around and take Peter by the arm.

"We're not welcome here any more." I say, pulling him out to the hall and to the guest room. I release him and move to the wardrobe to pull out my luggage bags. I see myself in the full length mirror and I notice something new. I look different, older maybe. I feel even more powerful and I think I know why. I place the jewel against my chest and the chain snaps up to reconnect itself. In the mirror I see Peter standing still and watching me. His expression grows even more confused as he sees the chain repair itself.

"Looks like you have more of her father in you than you thought." He says numbly, as if he's lost for words and this is all he can say.

"Pack your things." I say calmly, walking back to the bed and throwing open my luggage. I pull my clothes from the wardrobe drawers and off their hangers.

"Where can we stay?" I ask Peter, whose slowly begun to pack his things away.

"With Zilocke and Sage?" He responds, not pausing.

"Down the street? No. I want somewhere far. What about the city?" I ask. This time he pauses to shake his head.

"I did want you to feel special when we went shopping yesterday but I've just about run out of money at this point, I don't think we could afford anywhere nice in the city." He says.

"I'll take care of that. Find us somewhere nice, somewhere worthy of us." I say, finishing up my packing. Peter grabs his backpack with one hand and scoops his wallet and keys up in the other. He follows me down the hall to the lounge where Felix is sitting (fully-dressed) on the couch. Laura is standing in the doorway to the kitchen hushing Finn. She sees us and makes eyes contact with me. I give her a look as if to say 'you say anything and I'll kill you'. She furrows her eyebrows and turns around, walking off to the kitchen to ignore us. I see Finn's wide eyes blink at me from over her shoulder as she walks off. I place my hand instinctively over my belly and I move my eyes over to Felix.

"So, I guess I'll call you later, okay Felix?" Peter says, unsure. Felix flicks his eyes to me before nodding to him wordlessly.

"I'll call you too." I say to Felix. Which causes a scoff from Laura in the kitchen. Felix looks to the floor and nods. I move my hand to Peter's arm and we leave the front door to walk to the car out front. I look up at the sky and judge that it'll get dark within the next couple of hours. I place my luggage in the trunk before walking around to the drivers side of the car. Peter gets in the passenger side and sits back as I drive us away from the house. We sit in silence for a moment before Peter speaks again.

"So are you going to tell me what happened back there?" He asks.

"Turns out I'm part witch I guess." I say with a shrug. Peter shakes his head.

"No I mean between you and Laura. We all heard you two fighting, Felix even heard you from the shower." He says, looking out the window. I follow the road signs to the city centre and I feel myself swallow hard.

"You can't trust me right now." I say. I notice him furrow his eyebrows in confusion but he doesn't look at me.

"Alright..." He says slowly. I shake my head as we stop at a red light.

"Laura is insufferable and she never liked me from the start. It was only a matter of time before we got at each others' throats." I say. Suddenly I notice a blonde flash of hair in the corner of my eye. A car is sitting to the left of me at the intersection and in the passenger seat sits a blonde woman with dark sunglasses on. She's talking to the male driver and holding a map against the dashboard of the car. My hand slaps towards the car horn and it makes Peter jump. The man and woman glance over at me in panic and I stare over at them. The woman removes her sunglasses and immediately I recognise her to be Emmeline. The car behind me beeps it's horn and I glance up to see that the light is green. I accelerate through the intersection before turning hard onto the bike lane and opening my door to step out of the car.

"Lena, what the hell?" Peter asks, also getting out of the car.

"It's Emmeline." I say with seriousness. The car she was in pulls up on the road next to me. She rolls down her window and lowers her sunglasses. I smile widely, stepping up towards the car. I lean down to see William in the driver's seat.

"Not here." She says quickly and sternly. I raise an eyebrow and she nods forward. "Follow us." She says. Her window goes up and the car slowly drives forward. Peter attempts to peer into the car but can't due to the tinted windows.

"Get in." I say, hurrying over to the drivers side. I slide into the car and once Peter closes his door I drive off to follow Emmeline and William.

–

We drive into the city and I follow them into a dark car park underneath a tall skyscraping building. Once we park, Emmeline and William get out of their car and walk over to me. I smile and walk to pull them both into a hug. I place a hand on each of their cheeks, expecting Emmeline to protest. Instead she just stands there with half a smile, attempting to be cheerful.

"You had me believing you were dead." I say, moving my hands away from them.

"We had to fall off the radar for a bit... just until we found you." William says.

"Yes, when you went on that murder spree you left some of the Elders alive- they're out for our blood, Lena." Emmeline finishes. I nod to them slowly.

"Tell me about it, Zilocke's had me hidden away at _Laura's_ home." I shake my head. Peter makes his way over to me and places his arm around my waist.

"So what now, we hide together?" I ask them.

"We can't leave the other Aeries under the rule of those men, they were running our race to the ground after my mother died." Emmeline says. "They already declared you to be the new queen, we need to move quickly to establish whose in power."

"We've already made contact with leaders of the other Aeries and they're behind our cause." William adds. "We can meet them as soon as tomorrow, I'll just need to make some calls." He finishes, pulling his phone from his pocket. I nod after each of their statements, trying to take in all this information.

"We have the penthouse in this hotel. You two can take it and we'll get one next to yours, I'm friends with the owner." Emmeline says. William has walked to hold the elevator and he's talking on the phone as he motions for us to come over. Peter and I grab our bags from the car and follow Emmeline over to get in the elevator. William talks hurriedly on the phone in the corner.

"You look different." Emmeline says, looking at me up and down.

"I'm pregnant." I say. Emmeline raises an eyebrow and glances at Peter. William pauses in his conversation to look over at us. He stays like this for a moment before going back to his conversation.

"Is this your fault?" Emmeline asks Peter. Who narrows his eyes and moves his hand over my belly protectively.

"Our baby isn't a mistake." He says. Emmeline rolls her eyes.

"Well we've got the next heir in line- I guess." She says. "Even though it'll only be _half_ Veela." She shoots another look at Peter.

"And part witch." Peter adds, looking at the doors- probably hoping to get out of an enclosed space with Emmeline. Emmeline glares back at me.

"I'm trying so hard not to get angry at you." She says, shaking her head.

"Blame my mother." I shake my head.

"Lena, this is serious. How do you think the other Veela will react when they find out their leader belongs to their enemy race?" She asks. I open my mouth to speak but Peter speaks for me.

"I think they'll feel pretty damn safe when they realise their queen isn't only capable of becoming a Harpy but she can also strike them down in her human form too." He says.

"Well okay, let's pause for a moment." I say, "We don't know what I'm capable of until I speak with Zilocke." I show her the jewel. "He said this is a witch artefact- I think it's allowed me to harness magic." I finish.

"So you didn't want to stop at my crown- you took my necklace too?" Emmeline asks, folding her arms. I can tell it's sarcastic and that she can't really be angry though, she seems far too relieved to have found me to be angry. I bite my lip and stare at the doors, also wishing for a moment alone. The elevator doors emit a bell sound before they open to the top floor. Emmeline hands me a key card and William finally hangs up his phone to walk into the penthouse with us. I take in the sight of it's luxury and pause.

"A 5-star penthouse isn't exactly keeping it low-profile." I say to Emmeline when she comes back from collecting her things.

"This place has the best security. We've got too many enemies to be slack." She says, stopping at the door as she waits for William. "Speaking of- call your father to meet and discuss just how much of a witch you are. The Veela leaders who we're meeting with will want to know as well. Most of them were rejected and shunned by the elders because they didn't keep in with tradition. But they all still dislike the witches."

I nod to her. William hugs me goodnight on his way out and they leave Peter and I alone in the Penthouse. Peter walks to unpack his bag and I bring out my phone to text Sage. I inform her of the address and let her know that I want to meet with them tomorrow. I leave my phone on the marble kitchen counter before walking over to the huge windows that look out over the skyline. I sigh with a smile, my fingers running along the jewel around my neck. I'd forgotten how much I love the city. I hear Peter walk up behind me and feel his arms move around me gently. My whole body shivers with delight but my necklace pangs against my chest and my mind drifts to the image of Felix in the shower. My lip curls up in devious delight and my mind curses my body for it's urges. How dare I think of another man while I'm being held by the father of my child?

"So you're the Veela-Witch Queen of the rebels now, huh?" He says in my ear. "Seems like a lot of hard work." He adds. I move my hands to his as I turn around to face him.

"Why don't you help me unwind then?" I flash him my devious smile and he returns it. We walk off to the bedroom and I feel my fingers pinch my leg. I become aware that I'm once again thinking of a naked Felix.


	16. Chapter 16 - Aeron's Tale

**Chapter 16**

The sun has already arisen when Zilocke and Sage ring the Penthouse doorbell. Peter stands from the breakfast bar, where we're sat, to let them in. I finish eating my croissant before moving to my feet to greet them. Zilocke walks in first with Sage following behind. They're both dressed in modern clothing, though I notice they've stuck to grey-tones to seem inconspicuous.

"First of all, I'd like to know why you left the Hammond house without informing me." Zilocke says, his voice booming, despite his intention to yell.

"Laura and I had differences that we couldn't settle so I left. I feel safer here anyway, up high in the sky where I can perch." I add with sarcasm causing Peter to chuckle.

"Second of all, what's this I hear about magic being used? You burnt Laura and I want to know how." Zilocke adds, walking to take a seat at the long glass dining table. Sage follows him and so do I. Peter walks to the kitchen to make coffee. I slide the necklace off and place it on the table. When I let it go I feel the same desperate need for it to come back, so I keep my fingers on the chain lightly. Zilocke pulls a piece of cloth from his pocket and places it over the jewel before picking it up. He does this to ensure that his skin doesn't touch it.

"When Laura and I were fighting yesterday I felt this weird connection to the necklace. Well- I guess I've felt that ever since you did the ritual to save the baby. It felt like it was always calling to me. Then yesterday, when I really needed it, it's like I was able to call back to it and it responded. I wanted Laura to feel pain and the necklace did just that- made her feel pain. Isn't that what you think when you use your magic? You think it and then you can do it?" When I finish Peter places a glass of orange juice in front of me and sits on the chair beside me.

"You wanted her to feel pain?" Sage asks, looking concerned.

"Being Veela means I don't have a good handle on my emotions, just as I was getting used to it this pregnancy comes along and takes me back to how it began. My anger is multiplied by ten, just like sorrow or passion." As I say this last part I feel Peter's hand rest on my leg. But my mind is instantly taken to yesterday when I practically attacked Felix in the shower.

"The weird part about yesterday is that I didn't go harpy. I got lucky I guess." I say with a shrug, sipping my orange juice.

"I think you're right- this all has to do with the necklace. Sage and I did some reading up on it last night, Sage?" Zilocke says. Sage reaches into her bag and brings out a dusty old book, placing it on the table.

"The necklace belonged to a witch queen hundreds of years ago, her name was Aeron. The jewel was a gift from her human lover but she and the best in her coven enchanted it to strengthen her powers. This was so that they wouldn't weaken as she grew older." Sage says, skimming along the paragraphs of the book.

"So it helped me discover my powers." I say, reaching for the necklace to put it back on. I feel a sting in my chest when Zilocke pulls it away from me so I can't reach it.

"Keep reading Sage." He says. Sage nods and continues.

"Aeron began to live with the necklace always on her. It protected and healed her whenever she needed it, it was even said that it once brought her back from the brink of death."

"That would explain why you didn't go harpy. The necklace is protecting the you and the baby." Peter says as she pauses. Sage nods and continues.

"In return for it's power, the jewel lived off Aeron's life force, taking and giving as it pleased. She would be weak and depressed one day then strong and angry the next- it pushed her to madness. No one could get her to ever part with it and she began to distrust those around her- to the extent of believing that they were plotting against her." Sage stops reading and flips through the next through pages.

"Then? What happened after?" I ask.

"She led her coven into a war with a rival coven and the necklace was cut off her neck in the battle. She stopped fighting to look for it and-" Sage flips another page, quickly reading through it.

"But what Sage?" I ask, getting impatient. "She never found the necklace again and her son was killed in battle because she wasn't there to save him." She says, looking up at me.

"We followed the necklace up and it appears in various other texts but the same thing happens to all the other who wear it. They get a lot of power from it but it drives them to madness." Zilocke says, placing the necklace back on the table. I shake my head with a sigh.

"They were all witches though. I'm Veela, I'm very skilled at controlling my power. Besides, you said it will help protect the baby. I can at least wear it for a short amount of time." I say, moving my fingers back to the necklace. I pull it into my fingers despite Zilocke's stern expression and I place it over my neck, tucking it behind my shirt. Peter remains quiet at my side and I can tell that he's deep in thought.

"We just think you should be careful. I don't want to be too far away from you from now on." Zilocke says, before looking from Sage to me. "I think Sage should start giving you lessons on magic." He says, causing both Sage and I to look surprised.

"I don't think I'm ready to teach..." Sage says, not looking at me.

"And I don't think I'll have the time or strength to start learning magic." I say. Zilocke shakes his head.

"No excuses. Your magic will grow and you don't want to lose control of it. You don't have to reach Sage's level but you can at least learn how to defend yourself. Especially since you can't transform into a harpy any more." He says, sliding his chair back to stand up.

"I think you should tell him about your other meeting today." Peter says. Zilocke looks over at him before glancing back to me.

"Emmeline wants to overthrow whatever remains of the High Court so the Veela aren't left without a competent leader. She's assembled a group of the other Aerie leaders to help us do it. I'm meeting them today." I say.

"Why can't Emmeline take care of that, why are you involved?" He asks.

"Because I'm the next in line for the throne they want me to be the High Queen." I say with a shrug. Zilocke's lips form a line.

"No." He says simply, moving to his feet.

"I'm not asking your permission." I say, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Well I'm not giving it. Did you not listen to Sage? You don't need any more power right now, especially if you insist on keeping the necklace on." He says. I dislike having to look up at him like I'm a scolded child so I stand, unfortunately our height differences mean that he still towers over me.

"I'm a grown woman. I'm capable of the power, I don't need you telling me what I can and can't do." I snap back at him.

"You're going to be a mother. You need to be focusing on planning a safe, comfortable life for you child- not leading a race." He replies, calmly but sternly. This makes me angry.

"Like you did for me?" I say with venom. Zilocke blinks, taken aback and I continue. "Don't you dare give me parenting tips. I was able to raise myself just fine without you- Peter and I can raise this child alone as well."

"Ugh, will you two just stop with your arguing?" Sage raises her voice, though she's still sat down. We all look at her and she takes a breath before continuing.

"Father, it's not like Lena is going to be alone in her court- clearly she's got a whole group of people to help guide her. And really who better a leader for the Veela than Lena anyway? Our mother was the queen, now it's Lena's turn. This way we can also work to ensure peace between the Witches and the Veela and finally end this war- everybody wins." She finishes. Zilocke considers this before sighing and rubbing his forehead in frustration.

"We're getting a room on a lower floor, Sage will stop by tomorrow to begin with your lessons." He says, grabbing the old book from the table and standing back to wait for Sage to get out of her chair and join him. As she does this I give her a small, grateful smile and she returns one. The two walk to the elevators and Peter and I stand to see them off. Sage presses the elevator button and Zilocke turns back to face me.

"I'm not going to tell you how to raise your child- just as long as you keep me involved." He says.

"I won't cause a war between the Witches and the Veela." I say, shaking my head.

"I don't mean your sovereignty, I mean the child. We've never clarified this but as grandfather I want to be there for every birthday, school play, music recital, sports game and holiday celebration." He says before stepping into the open doors of the elevator. I move my eyes to the floor and nod, feeling a weird cosy feeling inside. The doors shut Sage and Zilocke off and I turn around to face Peter.

"Sage is pretty smart." He says. I remember the nightmare I had of them together and I feel a sudden shift in my mood.

"If you ever sleep with her I'll cut you." I say, raising an eyebrow and folding my arms. Peter lets out a loud laugh and he steps towards me to pull me into a hug. He kisses along my forehead as he talks.

"No one is as gorgeous as you. Not even your twin." He says.

Not long after Zilocke and Sage leave, the elevator bells rings to greet Emmeline and William. I've already dressed for the day so I walk over to let them in. They remain in the elevator and don't step forward into the flat.

"Most of them are already at the meeting place so we've got to go." Emmeline says, William steps forward to hold the door so it doesn't close. Peter walks up to join us and we all move into the elevator. Emmeline and William enter into a conversation so I lean against Peter as he puts an arm around me.

"Hey, I won't be able to come with you to the meeting today." Peter says in a low tone in my ear.

"Why not?" I lean back to face him.

"One of the Lost Boys got into some trouble, I have to go bail him out." He says. I purse my lips and look up at him.

"I won't be gone long he's not too far away from the city." He says, lightly kissing my nose.

"What are they up to these days anyway?" I ask.

"They're more or less scattered. Once they found out that they can age they've gone to establish their own families." As he says this he places his hand on my belly. I nod with a smile. The elevator comes to a stop at the underground car park. Peter gives me a kiss before walking off to his car. I follow Emmeline and William to theirs and we get into to pull out onto the road.

After ten minutes of driving we pull into the lot of a large abandoned building. There are homeless people sitting in the entrance hall. As we approach the battered front doors William walks ahead to open one for Emmeline and I. She winks at him when she walks past and I give him a smile. Emmeline eyes the homeless people as we walk down the corridor and I notice that none of them seem to care about our presence. Emmeline turns around to face me as we move.

"Seems they've already taken care of security." She says. We walk up several flights of concrete stairs before Emmeline stops in front of two double doors. She knocks on them and they swing open. I look ahead of me to notice a long wooden table sat in the middle of the concrete room. The room has been cleared out of any rubble and garbage and the table and chairs look out of place. Sitting at the table are five prestigious-looking Veela and Nyx. They stand when they see me and bow their heads.

"Esteemed royals, the High Queen Maddalena Flitwick." Emmeline says, gesturing to me. I smile

and nod to the royals at the table, attempting to channel my best Cassiopeia impression. When they look up at me I notice they're all stunningly beautiful, though one woman stands out the most. There are large scars on her face and I have to try hard to not stare. One of the men steps forward and holds his hand out.

"I've been looking forward to meeting the lovely Maddalena." He says with a handsome smile. I give him my hand and he keeps his eyes on mine as he leans down to kiss it.

"Please, call me Lena." I say, looking over at the table and withdrawing my hand from his smoothly. The same man steps forward and pulls the head chair out for me. I smirk at him and move forward to take the seat. He's clearly charming but I'm just not one for pretty boys. I look around at the others as they take their seats again before speaking.

"Are we all here? Can we begin?" I ask.


	17. Chapter 17 - The First Meeting

**Chapter 17**

How about we begin by everyone going around and introducing themselves?" Emmeline suggests, taking a seat next to William.

"If you don't mind- I would like it if you also mentioned your feelings towards having me as your high queen. Loyalty is important to me but so is honesty." I add, raising a hand.

A woman with honey blonde hair stands from her seat and clears her throat. Like the rest of the Veela and Nyx and the table, she's dressed in elegant, modern clothes. She's decorated herself in expensive jewellery and make-up and has her hair pulled back, away from her face to show-off her striking cheekbones.

"I am Matriarch Marcella De Gaunt, leader of the Archibald Aerie. I agreed to join this revolution because I'm tired of hiding my lover from the Elders and the public." Marcella says, gesturing to the woman standing against the wall behind her. The woman smiles at the mention of 'lover' and she bows her head in a slight embarrassment at being called out to the public, clearly she's not familiar with the feeling.

"I've given the Archibald King full-blooded Veela children, both of whom I love, but I no longer wish to continue the charade that was our marriage. This is Alexandria and she and I plan to wed- If this is something you won't allow in your new government then let us know now and we will leave." As she finishes her piece she looks right at me. Her eyes meet mine and I feel a slight shiver down my spine. I already like this woman, something about her makes her seem loyal and headstrong.

"You and your wife have my wholehearted welcome into our new government. I only ask of my leaders that you be loyal, fair and confident. What you do in your personal life is none of my concern. In the same manner I should hope that none of you find your business in my personal life either." I say, nodding to the woman. The corner of her mouth flicks up and she takes her seat before continuing,

"I agreed to have you as my queen because of your relationships. You seem to be involved with some very powerful people who I would rather have on my side." A she says this, Alexandria steps forward and places her hand on Marcella's shoulder gently- to which Marcella responds by grasping the hand lovingly. I glance to Emmeline who's trying hard to mask a look of distaste. Though I have to smile as I realise that she's not glaring at the women for their love of each other, she's glaring because of how public it is. As if she thinks I can't notice William's hand placed on her knee under the table.

"Just to clarify- who are you referring to when you mean my relationships?" I ask. Alexandria responds first.

"It may just be gossip... but I've heard that Zilocke the Powerful is your birth father." I raise my eyebrow and she continues, "They say he can start or end a war with just a click of his fingers." Marcella quickly speaks again before I can respond,

"Though even if he's not your father- I've always had a deep respect for the Flitwick family. I've never seen anyone who could charm men as well as your mother could." My lips pull into a smile and I nod to them.

"Thank you for your kind words. And yes, Zilocke is my father." I say, looking to the next person along at the table. The handsome man who kissed my hand before clears his throat, though he remains seated.

"Well, I've never heard of this Zilocke person- I came here purely because of who you are, Lena. I've encountered Pan before- when I was a boy- back when he had a heart of stone. Recently we've been involved in the same circles and he seems more like a human... perhaps even compassionate." He pauses at this thought, before looking back at me.

"Though there is also the added bonus of having someone pretty to look at sitting on the throne. I'm a sucker for brunettes." He adds with a wink. I smirk at him and lean back on the chair, folding my arms.

"And why are you interested in forming our new government? Or are you just here to ass-kiss?" I ask, tilting my head. He grins for a moment but loses it as he begins his introduction.

"I am Prince Jakoban Lockette. I'm the only child of the late Queen Suzanna of the Cirrus Aerie and I was denied the throne because of my gender. Instead they chose my ten-year-old cousin, Cecilly. It seemed that no matter how competent I am of a leader, I will still never be able to turn into a harpy. I'm here to show the Elders what they lost when they picked a child over someone who actually has the competency to rule." He finishes. The woman sat the other side of him, the one with bronze skin and dark eyes, speaks up at this point.

"Without our ability to transform into a harpy we'd might as well as be human. Anyone educated enough can charm a crowd or make logical decisions, it takes a beast to protect their people. A leader must be the most powerful, most dangerous weapon in their Aerie's arsenal- perhaps this Cecilly was chosen over you because when it comes down to it- a harpy can compete against an army of men, a regular Nyx simply cannot." The woman finishes, before turning her attention to me.

"At least that's how it works in my Aerie." She says. Jakoban responds,

"I do agree that Cecilly may one day grow to be much stronger than me- but I don't believe that makes her a better leader. And if war makes it's way to my doorstep then it's not like I'm left defenceless. I've grown up alongside the warrior Veela in my Aerie, their complete trust and loyalty lies with me and they will fight for me. And if the event does occur where I need to fight an army myself- then I will gladly become a sacrifice, all for the sake of my Aerie." He finishes his piece by sitting back. The dark-eyed woman simply smirks and turns her attention to me.

"Welcome Prince Lockette." I turn to the woman, "Are you saying that you're a soldier?" I notice dark tattoo marks all up and down her arms- they seem to be tribal, with some runes intertwined. Her hair is dark and pulled up to sit in the shape of a mohawk, making her look dangerous.

"Yes. My name is Nymeria Tygaran and I am of the Tuskan Arie. I wasn't born into royalty like most of you." She slowly eyes those sitting around the table. "I earned my place as queen by proving that I am the strongest and toughest. I don't believe anyone has the right to command an army and send them into battle if they've never spent time as a soldier and been in battles themselves." She remains leaned back in her seat.

"Every Veela here has had her share of murder. I don't believe anyone can honestly say they've never killed when in harpy form..." I say. There is a slight uncomfortable shift in the room and I notice a few of the women avoiding eye contact with anyone else.

"I don't mean killing as a harpy, I mean fighting as a woman. What makes Tuskan Veela strong is our self-control. We're taught from a young age how to tame the beast inside, and only transform as a last resort." She says and I nod.

"Well you seem like a valuable member to us- you'll have to teach us how you do it. What are your thoughts on me as the High Queen?" I ask.

"I'm still yet to be impressed. The Elders were running us to the ground but at least they knew what made a good leader. For example, they chose Cassiopeia and she was a good leader. Her and the Elders picked you as the heir so they must have seen something. All you need to do for my approval is prove them right." I nod, looking to the next person along. The scarred woman who first stood out to me realises it's her turn to speak so she sits up straight.

"Well, my name is Sansa Delphinia. I'm from the Bellavine Aerie where the Harpy transformation is restricted so all Veela have to wear these." She holds up a hand with a thin metal bracelet on her wrist. There is an odd part at the side that appears to be embedded into her skin. "I was young when I upset my sister and she turned harpy for the first time- it was earlier than expected so she hadn't been pierced yet. I survived but in the attack she did this to my face and it meant that I couldn't use the Veela charm. We didn't have access to the witches' medicine at the time so it never healed properly. When my father and sister died and they had to pick a new leader they saw me as useless and so my brother-in-law was selected." She sits back against her chair with a displeased look on her face.

"And he's not a good leader?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"He's horrible." She looks to the table, "Pure evil."

"And your thoughts on me?" I ask, tilting my head.

"I really don't know of any of you. I've never left my home city before- my father would never allow it. Marcella and I met at one of my family's celebrations and she invited me to come and join this alliance. Though now that I'm finding out more I'm definitely in favour of a revolution." She says.

"Thank you, I'm glad you're here- you'll always have a place among us." I nod with a smile before moving my eyes to the next leader at the table. He's an older man with greying hair, who clears his throat and stands when it's his turn to speak.

"My name is King Darius Holmes of the Plutarch Aerie, I never agreed with the Elders and I'd like to improve the condition of my Aerie- that's why I'm joining this revolution. I want to ensure that my daughters grow up without the threat of war. When I look at you, Maddalena, I see a spark in your eye that tells me that you'll be a great leader." He nods his head before taking his seat again.

"Thank you King Holmes, that was kind." I smile, Darius seems to be one of the most genuine Nyx I've ever met, and I bet his daughters love him unconditionally. This thought makes me pause as I consider my situation with Zilocke. I allow Emmeline and William to introduce themselves before giving a quick summary of how I discovered who I was and what I've done for my Aerie so far.

"So now that that's done next on the agenda I want our top priority as the new government to be our relationship with the witches. Obviously we realise that this war has been a stalemate that's raged on for generations, making attacks at each other whenever we get the chance. However, with our population dwindling a battle could mean the end of Veela and Nyx kind. This is why I propose that we approach the witch leaders with the desire for a treaty." This statement causes some comments in protest and a couple of the leaders even look angry.

We spend the next couple of hours in debate. Half of us are for a treaty and the other half are against on the grounds that they still want revenge for the wrong-doings the witches have caused them. In the end, however, I manage to point out that the pros heavily outweigh the cons of an alliance and everyone agrees that I can at least arrange a meeting with the witch leaders to discuss it with them. When the room finally becomes silent again I bring up the next item on the agenda.

"I would like to share some information that will affect my leadership of this court." I say, moving to stand. My this point my legs are killing my from sitting for so long and my body is grateful for the relief. I place my hands over my (unrecognisably) pregnant abdomen and the various leaders' eyes move down to it.

"You may have heard whispers that my boyfriend, Pan, and I are expecting a child. This is true. Now, it won't affect much except that in a few months I won't be able to do strenuous physical activity. Please keep this in mind if you're planning on causing any wars... on second thought, just try not to do that anyway. Does anyone have anything else to add to the meeting?" I ask. Nymeria raises her hand.

"I'd like to invite all of you to join me when I run training sessions to enhance your fighting abilities. Especially you, Sansa, if we work on it I can teach you to control your transformations rather than deny your Harpy side life." Sansa smiles and it shows how young she is.

"I'll speak with you after then." She says with a nod.

"Well then I'll see you all at our next meeting in a week's time." I say.

I say goodbye to each leader as they file through the door and when they've all left I walk with Emmeline and William to the car. We drive to a high-end shopping complex and go clothes shopping for the rest of the afternoon. Emmeline and I catch up on everything- including that I might start taking magic lessons from Sage. I don't mention the necklace or the tale of Aeron though, I don't believe she needs more stress. When we're done we drive back to the hotel and say goodbye, going our own ways to our own apartments.


	18. Chapter 18 - A Bottle of Wine

**Chapter 1****8**

I say goodbye to Emmeline and William at the lobby of the hotel before taking the lift up to my room. When I walk into the kitchen I pick up the room service menu and order a nice bottle of wine. I've already opened the bottle and changed into pretty lingerie when my phone buzzes on the counter. Peter's name appears so I hit answer.

"There's a surprise waiting for you at home." I say with a flirty tone.

"Sorry love, I won't be home tonight. This problem will take longer to sort out than I thought."

"Is everything okay?" I ask with concern.

"It'll be fine once I'm done with it."

"Well, will I see you tomorrow? I have a couple of meetings in the morning but we can do something in the afternoon?"

"I'm sorry love I have to go, I'll try and sort this out as quick as I can." He hangs up and I'm left pouting at nothing but silence. I put the phone down and begin to pour myself a glass of wine before I stop myself. I look down at my belly and sigh, placing my hand on it. The hotel phone rings so I leave the wine on the table and move over to answer it.

"Hello?" I ask.

"I'm so sorry to bother you Mrs. Smith but security have a man who says he knows you and your husband. He's intoxicated and he tried to use the elevator to get to your room."

"Describe him for me." My mind goes to Yousoff.

"He's got short blonde hair, a thin frame with a muscled build. About 6ft-something. He says his name is Felix." The receptionist says.

"Send him up." I say, before hanging up the phone and hurrying to put on my silk bath robe. The doorbell buzzes and I open the door to greet a drunk-looking Felix and a bulky suited-security guard with a stern expression and an earpiece.

"Thank you, we'll be fine." I tell the man.

"Let me know if there's any trouble Mrs Smith." The man says, eyeing Felix before turning around and stepping back into the elevator. Felix walks in, returning the challenging stare to the security guard. When the other man leaves he walks over to the wine glass and finishes it.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, folding my arms.

"Mrs Smith?" He ignores me and asks with drunken distaste, roughly placing the glass back on the table.

"Does Peter know you're here?" I ask, walking over to pick up the wine bottle before he gets to it.

"He's not here?" He asks, taking a seat at the table. I grab the bottle and before I can move away, his hand moves up to hold my hip.

"Felix." I say in a warning tone. His fingers move gently along my side, as he feels the silk. He leans forward and kisses my stomach, moving his other hand up to release the draw string of my robe. I roll my eyes and push his hands off of me. My robe is now open and my dark purple corset is now visible

"Stop it." I say sternly, walking off to the kitchen. The jewel around my neck starts singing to me wildly so when I put the wine bottle on the breakfast bar counter I move my hand up to the chain and yank it off. It hurts to put the necklace down but at least it's no longer giving me a headache. I turn around to see Felix standing by the fridge, blocking my way out of this situation. He's slightly swaying and his eyes are on the floor.

"You shouldn't be here." I say, closing my robe over my underwear. His eyes move to the necklace on the bar. They stay there for a moment and I nervously slide my hand back to the chain before he moves his eyes up to mine and squares his shoulders. He walks towards me and I take a breath, preparing to charm him into getting off of me. Surprisingly, instead of kissing me he puts his forehead against my shoulder and holds me gently. There's a sharp rise and fall of his shoulders and I hear him make a noise I've never heard him make before.

"Are you crying?" I ask with surprise.

"Laura took him, Lena. She took Finn and I'll never see him again." His voice is muffled against my shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" I widen my eyes, leaning back to look at his face. His eyes are red and glazed over and he smells heavily of alcohol. He shakes his head, moving his hands up to grip his hair in frustration. He steps back as he shakes his head, reaching out to grab the wine bottle.

"She can't do that, Felix, we'll get him back." I tell him as he drinks down the wine.

"Come sit down, you don't need to get irrational." I say, moving my hand to take the wine bottle. He keeps his grip on it and pulls it so I move closer to him.

"Irrational?" His face is close to mine so he speaks in a low tone. I keep my eyes on the floor and when I try to step back my body meets the bar. He leans across to put the bottle on the counter and after he does he presses his lips to my neck. His hands move to my hips and he stands close.

"Because only you get to be irrational, right?" He whispers in my ear. I press my hands against his chest to shove him away from me.

"What would Peter say if he saw you right now?" I take his arm and begin leading him to the lounge area.

"He would be very angry that his girlfriend is kissing his best friend." He says, suddenly yanking me closer to him.

"Felix!" I scream as we lose balance and fall onto the couch. Felix lets out a laugh but his smile quickly fades when he leans back and thinks of Finn.

"Maybe the witches will trade the jewel for Finn." He says, looking up at the ceiling. I push myself up from on top of him and my chest constricts at the thought if this.

"I'll help you get Finn back, I promise." I say with seriousness. There is a buzz at the front door and when I turn around to look at the door, Felix sits up and pulls me so my chest meets his. I look at him wide-eyed and he moves a hand behind my head, pulling my lips to his firmly. I push my hands against him again to move away but he remains firm, lying back and pulling me with him. Instead of pushing I resign to bite his lip. He lets me go in protest.

"Ow!" He groans, allowing me climb off of him. The door buzzes again so I hurry over and tighten my robe drawstring before opening the door. Emmeline is on the other side with crossed arms. I open my mouth to greet her but she beats me to it by walking into the apartment.

"Reception called me first since the room is under my name." She says, looking around before noticing Felix move in the darkness of the lounge.

"How long has this been going on?"She She asks, looking back at me.

"Peter?" Felix calls, lying back on the couch.

"It's not him." I call back, crossing my arms and keeping my eyes on Emmeline.

"You're damn lucky it's not him, how would you explain yourself?" She says.

"I would be honest and tell him that a very drunk Felix came over unexpectedly and told me that Laura has kidnapped his son." I tell her. She widens her eyes and looks back behind her at Felix.

"What a bitch!" She exclaims. I nod as I purse my lips. "I'll handle it, I'm sure Zilocke will help me out." I say, keeping my arms crossed I notice Felix get off the couch and walk towards us, he barely regards Emmeline before grabbing the wine bottle off the counter and disappearing further into the apartment. Emmeline watches him silently before she turns back to me and keeps her arms crossed.

"Well as frustrating as that is, I don't believe I was wrong to be suspicious." She says. I purse my lips, remaining silent.

"Lena, I've seen the way he looks at you. What are you going to do?" She asks.

"I don't know. I'll let him stay the night on the couch and he'll go in the morning. Peter should be back tomorrow." I say.

"I didn't mean that." She says, beginning to walk back to the front door. She steps into the elevator and continues as I hold the door.

"Listen, it's okay to love them both- we're young. But Peter and Felix aren't, especially Peter, he's very very old. Plus, he's never loved anyone like he loves you. If you can't promise the same faithfulness he gives you then let him know that and don't lead him on." She puts a hand on her hip and the other on the railing of the elevator. I smirk.

"But I just got him back... I can't lose him again." I say, running a hand through my hair. Emmeline shrugs and sighs. I step back from the elevator door and just before they close Emmeline speaks,

"Don't do anything you'll regret in the morning." I turn around and walk to the breakfast bar, my heart tightens when I realise that my necklace is gone. I hurry down the hall and to the master bedroom to see Felix standing with his back to me. He has his phone pressed to his ear and dangling in his other hand is the broken chain of my necklace.

"What are you doing?" I ask, sounding more vicious than I had meant. Felix turns around to look at me before saying,

"Alright." And hanging up the phone. I roll my eyes and hold my hand out.

"Give me the necklace." I say. Felix shakes his head and slides it into the pocket of his jeans. It sings to me and I have to curl my hand into a tight fist to manage my frustration. A dark voice creeps into my head and I find myself stepping towards him with dark eyes and a curled lip.

"Don't hurt me." Felix requests as he steps back in caution.

"I'm not going to hurt you." I smile, shaking my head. I swipe my hand down to undo the drawstring of my robe and it tumbles to my feet. Felix looks down, wide-eyed, at my lingerie. I move my hands to his chest, sliding them down to his hips in an attempt to snake my fingers into his pocket to retrieve the necklace. His hands move from my shoulders down towards my wrists so I step closer and move my lips to his softly. I manage to hook a finger around the chain but as it's broken it slips out of my grip. Felix takes my wrists and moves my hands away from his pockets so I push him backwards gently, causing him to fall onto the bed. I lean over him and run a hand through his hair. I move my gaze up to his eyes and, in a calming voice, I speak,

"Go to sleep." His eyes flicker drearily before he turns his head to the side and becomes calm. I move my hand into his pocket and withdraw the jewel, clutching it to my chest tightly. I'm taken aback when the chain snaps up around my neck and joins together, repairing itself. I move my hand away from the jewel and the necklace hangs as it usually would. With the jewel back against my chest, my head clears and my heart stops fluttering. I leave Felix on the bed to go change into comfortable cotton pyjamas before crawling back onto the bed beside him. I drag some pillows down to rest on before pulling the blanket over us. I curl up at Felix's side to watch him sleep. He's much more mature-looking than he was when I first met him. But I can tell his personality is much softer since he became a father. There is a buzz in his pocket and I can see the screen of his phone light up. I reach down to grab the phone and look at the caller. Peter's name appears and I debate answering it. Before it rings out I sit up and hit answer, moving the phone to my ear.

"Hey Peter." I say, looking down at Felix.

"Lena?" He asks, confused.

"Felix came to the city looking for you. He's passed out on the bed." I say, reaching my hand out to move the hair away from Felix's eyes.

"Oh." He takes a moment to process this before continuing, "So he's told you about Finn then?"

"Yeah, I was going to call Zilocke to see if he could help."

"I already tried but he didn't seem interested. I'm sure if you ask he'll do it."

"I'll work something out." I roll onto my back. A moment of silence passes before Peter speaks again.

"I love you." I pause.

"Felix kissed me." I expect silence but Peter speaks.

"I know, he told me."

"And then I kissed him." Now there's a silence.

"Why?" I can't determine his tone.

"Because I was trying to charm him into giving me back the Queen's Jewel... I just got caught up in the moment..." Suddenly there's a scream in the background on his end and then a furious shouting.

"Is everything okay there?" I ask, sitting up.

"We'll discuss this tomorrow, I have to go."

"Okay but-" I'm cut off when he hangs up. I stare at the phone for a moment in bewilderment. Felix moans beside me before he rolls over and his arms flops over my abdomen, pulling me close. I sigh and lie back, running my fingers along his arm gently.


	19. Chapter 19 - The Morning After

**Chapter 1****9**

When the morning comes the room is filled with light. I've left the curtains open and the whole room is visible. I stretch my arms and turn my head to notice the bed empty beside me. There are noises coming from the kitchen so I pull on my silk robe and wander out. Felix is working away over the stove, he's got eggs and bacon in a frying pan and music playing on the radio. I walk over to sit at the breakfast bar and Felix remains silent as he cooks. I try to read his facial expression but I can't place it, I'm not sure if he's still upset after last night or not.

"Cooking?" I ask, tilting my head. He nods, looking up at me.

"We'll need our energy for our run this morning." He says, flipping the egg.

"I can't leave, I have Sage coming over to practice magic." I say, picking up a fork as the breakfast is placed on a plate and served to me. The toaster bell dings and toast joins my meal.

"Then call and cancel. We need to make sure we're in shape for when we get Finn back." He says, pouring ingredients into the blender and adding protein powder. I go to speak but he turns the blender on and the sound drowns me out. When the sound stops he pours the smoothie into two cups and hands me it.

"Is this even safe for me to drink?" I ask. The liquid is purple in colour and there appears to be something solid floating in it.

"Yes, it's good for you. And him." He says, nodding to my midriff. I take a sip of the smoothie before scrunching my nose up to the taste.

"Is there raw egg in that?" I ask, taking a bite of my toast. Felix walks behind me to the dining table before pulling the barstool back to sit on it. He places my phone in front of me and begins eating his meal. I pick up the phone and scroll to the number Sage gave me, moving it to my ear.

"Lena?" Zilocke answers on the second ring.

"Hey. I need you to let Sage know we can't practice this morning, something important came up." I eat another forkful of egg.

"What's more important than getting control of your magic before that jewel controls you?" He asks.

"Please don't make this an issue, just pass the phone to Sage and we'll reschedule." I say, rolling my eyes. I notice Felix watching me my from the corner of my eye.

"She's already on her way up, you can tell her in person. Good bye for now." He says.

"Wait, wait!" I say quickly. "I need you to get me a meeting with Jadis and Griselda."

"The Coven leaders? Why?"

"I want to discuss a treaty with them."

"I'll see what I can do but don't be surprised if they don't accept."

"I'll take my chances... Thank you." I add quickly, before hanging up. I look over to Felix after I do and he's staring at my lips.

"What?" I ask. He reaches his hand out and gently brushes his thumb along the side of my lower lip. He moves his eyes to mine as he wipes off some sauce from breakfast and puts his thumb in his mouth to taste it. The necklace sends a pulse through my chest and it almost feels like a heart attack. My chest constricts and all of my urges dare me to press my lips to his. I'm brought out of my day-dream when Felix raises an eyebrow and tilts his head. I realise what my wide-eyed open-mouthed expression must look right now and I have to look away to compose myself. I move my hand to my leg to give it a tight pinch. My brain sings a reminder to me. 'You're Peter's, you're Peter's. You're having his baby, you're having his baby. Oh, but look at those lips. And those eyes." The pain in my leg gets worse and when the doorbell rings I dart out of my chair to answer it. Sage gets a slight look of concern when she sees me out of breath but she doesn't say anything about it.

"Ready?" She asks, looking down at my silk robe and untouched hair and face.

"Yes. Come in, I'll just change." I say, stepping aside and ushering her inside.

"I thought we were going for a run." Felix says, turning to face us and leaning back on the counter.

"It can wait. Sage and I won't be too long." I say, walking past him in the direction of the bedroom. "Go watch TV to occupy yourself if you're bored." I say, closing the bedroom door behind me. I quickly change into workout gear and tie my hair back so it's off my face. Making sure to give myself a nasty glare in the mirror before I leave.

"Get it together, Lena." I say.

When I get back into the dining/ kitchen area I notice Sage has already set up some candles and large books for us. Felix remains at the breakfast bar, drinking his smoothie and watching us patiently. For the rest of the hour Sage has me read from the large books that she calls Grimoires to learn both how to speak a whole new language as well as how to channel my magic. We finish by practising lighting a candle and extinguishing the flame with magic, which I pick up quite easily. Sage and I discuss the next time we have to practice as she packs her things away into her bag. All three of us enter the elevator together and we say good bye at her stop before Felix and I continue down to the garage. As we approach Emmeline's black sports car I pull the key out of my pocket. Felix's eyes widen and he places his hand on the hood of the car gently, his eyes full of envy.

"I forget what your life is like sometimes." He says, opening the passenger door.

"Here." I say, throwing the keys over to him. He catches them and the corner of his mouth turns up. He doesn't waste any more time before he walks around the car and slides into the driver's seat.

We drive out of the garage and drive for twenty minutes to the outskirts of the city. Felix grips the steering wheel firmly and on several occasions he ignores the speed limits of the road- in doing this his smile widens even further. Watching him drive is like watching a child with a new toy, I smile at the endearing sight of it. We park at the side of a large lake which has a running track on it's edge.

"I'll need to take it easy." I say, as we get out of the car and begin our jog on the track. After running almost the whole track I feel a familiar aching in my ankles, back and chest. It feels like I haven't done strenuous exercise like this in years. Felix directs our running to the middle of a small oval not too far from the car. He gives me a moment to catch my breath and hands me his bottle of water.

"Okay, now- try to pin me." He says, putting one foot back for stability and holding out his hands in front of him. I raise my eyebrow at him before taking another drink of the water.

"I'm pregnant, I'm not going to pin you to the ground." I say, eventually.

"You're not even a month along, you'll be fine." He says, adding, "Now, try to hit me." I sigh and stretch my arm and neck muscles.

"Ready?" I ask, leaning forward slightly to look at him. He nods his head and brings his fists up, moving around on the spot, ready to dodge. I swipe my hand out from the right and he swats it away easily, moving to my side.

"Come on, you can do better than that." He says at my side. The taunting doesn't annoy me personally but it seems the jewel around my neck is responding to it. It's sending pulses of energy through my chest, making my arms tingle, all the way down to my fingers. Or maybe that's me subconsciously requesting more energy from it, I'm not quite sure what this feeling is. I reach for his chest quickly and am able to get a grip onto his shirt, but in the next moment he's pushed my hands away and stepped backwards. I begin stepping slowly to my left, he responds and we move in a circle. I move my feet carefully, one in front of the other like I'm walking on a tightrope- imitating a lion on the prowl. The corner of his mouth flicks up and I can tell he's amused. I move my eyes to his and focus on our eye contact. His pupils dilate and I reach out, gripping a hand behind his neck and throwing my body onto his. He tumbles to the ground and I fall on top of him. I quickly grab each of his wrists in my hands and I move my legs to pin his thighs down. He's still so dazed from the charm it takes him a while to snap back to reality. The jewel swings back and forth, thumping against my chest. When I'm excited like this the pulses of energy are more common and closer together. When he realises he's pinned he furrows his eyebrows and rolls to the side, pushing me off of him with ease. I roll onto my back and my smile fades as I realise he's annoyed with me. He remains sat on the ground so I sit up next to him.

"You can't use your charm it's cheating." He says.

"How is it cheating? I'm just using one of my skills. You have height, strength and speed and I have this." I say, moving to my feet again.

"Because it's psychological warfare, how would you like it if someone played with your emotions?" He asks, also moving to his feet.

"Someone already did." I say, shaking my head and turning back to face him.

"Right and you went on to marry him so I guess that explains a lot." He says, turning around to walk back to the car.

"Hey!" I say angrily, gripping onto his sleeve and pulling him to a halt. "First of all I'm not married, and second, if you have something to say, why don't you just man up and say it?" I ask.

Suddenly he grips onto my arm and pulls me close, snaking his other arm around my waist. He moves his lips to mine and what I expect to be a forceful kiss turns out to be soft and gentle. I push him off of me and he lets me go. I stare up at him in angry bewilderment.

"Doesn't feel great, does it?" He asks, turning to walk back to the car again. I trail after him and shove my hands in the pockets of my hoodie, so they rest on my abdomen. He sits in the driver's seat, fuming, so I get into the passenger seat and remain silent. We pull away from the car park and drive on back towards the city. The silence in the car is interrupted by a sudden sound from my phone that makes me jump. I reach for it and look to the screen- there have been seven missed calls. I hit redial on the first number- one I don't recognise- and move the phone to my ear.

"Don't answer that Lena, you have bounty hunters after you." Felix says, attempting to reach for the phone. I hit his hand away.

"Focus on driving or else you'll fulfil the bounty hunter's job." I snap back.

"Queen Flitwick?" The female voice sounds vaguely familiar.

"Who is this?" I ask.

"My apologies, your highness- I'm Alexandria Romanova, Matriarch De Gaunt's assistant. I'm calling on her behalf."

"Oh yes, hello Alexandria it's nice to speak with you again. Is everything alright?" I ask, trying to mask my current frustration with kindness. It's exceptionally hard to do in this current state, though, -especially with my necklace buzzing so annoyingly- and I come across as impatient.

"Unfortunately not, Matriarch De Gaunt requests your presence immediately." I glance over to Felix and he can sense my concern.

"Where would she like to meet?" I ask.

"Our Aerie isn't far from the city, I'll message you the directions. Will you be available to arrive today?" She asks.

"Yes, that will be fine, expect me soon. Has something bad happened, Alexandria?" I ask. Alexandria's formal tone faults when she hesitates.

"Marcella doesn't tell me much... but I did see your fiancé in one of the holding cells." She says. I purse my lips.

"Expect me soon." I say, hanging up the phone. Felix looks at me expectantly.

"Peter's gotten himself into trouble, take me to the hotel so we can pick up Emmeline." Felix remains silent as he continues driving, I notice him take a wrong turn.

"Felix, the city is behind us." I say, sitting up to look out the window.

"We're taking a quick detour- we're going to my house." He says.

"Why?" I raise an eyebrow, sitting back.

"I realised how likely it is that Laura left contact information for Jadis or Griselda at the house. We can call them and establish a meeting to get Finn back."

"Felix, I've already got my father working on contacting them- I promised you that we'll get Finn back and I meant it. But right now Peter has done something to get himself locked up in a Veela prison cell and I don't know how long the queen is willing to wait for me."

"You're _her_ queen. She'll wait." He says, shaking his head. I sigh, leaning back and calling Emmeline. At least I can save time by having her get an outfit ready for me when we pick her up.


	20. Chapter 20 - Archibald Keep

**Chapter ****20**

Felix retrieves a small black book of phone numbers and I take over driving for the trip back to the city. There is a slight incident when my driving attracts the attention of a police officer but to my luck he's male and I'm able to change his mind about the speeding ticket. When we get back to the hotel Emmeline and William are already waiting for me in my apartment, just as I expected. Emmeline has laid out a sophisticated outfit consisting of a charcoal dress and matching accessories. I quickly shower, change and prepare myself while Felix sits at the breakfast bar making small talk with William. Someone who, even after their time together, he's never come to like. I flatten down the front of my dress as I walk out and Emmeline manages a smile.

"I knew it would look great." She says, grabbing her handbag and walking to the elevator. William steps in first and holds the door for Emmeline. I'm about to step in when all three of us look at Felix who's close behind me.

"You're coming?" I ask, widening my eyes.

"Yes? What's the problem?" He asks.

"The problem is that we're about to bail out the guy who's fiancé you're in love with. It's also a Veela Aerie, and random humans aren't allowed." Emmeline says with her dangerous pout. Felix steps into the elevator and presses the 'door close' button behind him.

"Well it's a good thing I'm '_Lena's human_' then, isn't it?" He says with a mocking tone. Emmeline narrows her eyes at him before staring ahead at the doors.

"Stop bickering, it's childish." I say, rolling my eyes.

"You tell them, queenie." William says with a smile. I glance over at him to return the smile and as I do, I notice Felix scowl at William. Emmeline also appears annoyed that I'm smiling at William so I move my attention to the elevator doors. The silence in the tiny room hits a whole new level of awkward and I find myself wishing the doors would hurry up and open to the garage. I follow the directions Alexandria sent and the roads change from inner-city to forest-side highway. We take an exit ramp and I look around carefully for a sign or landmark that indicated a magical presence. Suddenly I feel a glimmer pass my eyes and a town appears on the road ahead of me. The houses in the town have vintage structures and beyond the town centre, a castle sits in the background.

"Looks like that's where we're headed." William says, leaning forward from the back seat.

"When we get there, do us all a favour and don't say anything Felix." Emmeline says snarkily, also leaning forward to peer. Felix just narrows his eyes and ignores her. We drive up to the front grounds of the castle and stop at the tall iron gates blocking our path. Two men stand on guard in dark blue uniforms. One walks up to the driver's side and I roll down the window and remove my sunglasses. The man takes one look at my face before nodding and stepping back in a small bow.

"Welcome to Archibald Keep, your highness." He says. The gate swings open slowly so I smile to the man and move my sunglasses back on. The driveway is long and lies in a 'U-shape' with the other end leading back out to the town. I stop the car by the front steps and a woman dressed in a similar uniform to the men moves to my side as soon as I step out of the car. She holds her hand out for the car keys and after handing them to her, I walk up to the front doors. The car is taken away by the woman and we all move into the foyer as the front doors are opened for us. The whole interior has been modernly decorated, with a white and grey marble floor and dark hardwood on the handrail of the grand staircase. The bannisters are black iron, the same as the front gate.

"Oh good, you're here." Alexandria says, appearing at the top of the staircase. "If you'll come this way to the throne room, your highness. We're ready to begin court." She says, ushering us up the stairs. I begin to ascend the staircase and Felix walks beside me, moving his hand to the small of my back. After the workout this morning my body already feels sore and tired but I'm too proud and too angry at him to allow this, so I swat his hand away nonchalantly. We enter the throne room and I'm instantly reminded of the throne room at Flitwick mountain. My chest tightens and I realise how much I miss it- I ever even got to sit in the throne. At the end of the room a grey-themed throne is set up and there is a large wooden chair shoved awkwardly at the side of the great chair. Marcella is sitting in the wooden one but she stands as I approach.

"You're here!" She says with relief, clearly they've been waiting a while.

"Hello Marcella, perhaps now you can tell me what's going on?" I ask, walking up the steps to her. Emmeline, William and Felix hang back at the base of the steps before finding seats off to the side. Marcella takes a breath to begin speaking but the rough, loud opening of doors distracts her. Two men in the blue uniforms walk Peter and one of the Lost Boys in, each guard holding the arm of each man. Peter and the Lost Boy have their hands behind their backs and a chain dangles from their wrists.

"Peter Pan, Zickert the lost Boy, you are both charged with the attempted kidnapping of my daughter, Princess Cordelia. How do you plead?" Marcella asks, her features hardening as she lays her eyes on them. Peter is brought to one of the centre seat in the front row and made to bow. He cranes his neck and his eyes meet mine. My lips form a line and I turn to the woman next to me.

"Marcella, Is this really necessary, can't you and I sit down and work this out?" I ask.

"Peter is not king of anything yet and so he's not entitled to anything. Everyone gets a fair trial... or are you not an advocate of that in your new leadership?" Marcella asks, flicking her eyes up to me with a harsh gaze. I narrow my eyes at her before sinking to the throne, my necklace flickers at the base of my neck and Marcella's features soften.

"Forgive me, your highness. I know I shouldn't speak to you like that... it's just that this trial is of personal significance to me." She glares back at Peter. "They tried to kidnap my daughter." She hisses. I sigh and glance back down to Peter and the Lost Boy.

"Well, how do you plead?" I ask them, my eyes on Peter. He looks up at me and remains silent for a moment. He raises an eyebrow and gives me a look as if to ask, 'Are you really doing this, Lena?' I keep my gaze stern and he shakes his head in annoyance.

"Guilty." He utters. The man next to him responds with the same answer. Marcella inhales sharply and she taps her fingers angrily on her wooden chair.

"Tell me what happened then." I say. Marcella opens her mouth to speak but I interrupt. "I mean those on trial."

"I didn't kidnap anyone... Cordelia hates it here- she wanted to leave. She and Zickert fell in love and when they tried to leave Zickert was put in prison. I came here to get him out- It didn't matter to me if Cordelia came along or not." Peter says.

"You will address her as _Princess_ Cordelia. And no daughter of mine fell in love with a Lost Boy, do you really expect me to believe you?" She asks.

"Well why don't we bring the Princess in and ask her, ourselves?" I suggest. Marcella widens her eyes and opens her mouth to protest. She has to stop again when I raise my hand and gesture to one of the guards by the door. He nods to me and leaves to fetch the girl.

"I don't want my daughter anywhere near them." The woman says at my side. I glance over to her.

"How will this be a fair trial if we don't hear from each party involved?" I ask, this causes her to close her mouth but the sour look on her face remains. I glance back down to Peter as we wait and notice his eyes still on me.

"You look nice today." He says. His eyes slowly move over to Felix who's sat at the side, his eyes on the ground.

"Nice to see you brought your pet along." Peter says, not hiding his sourness. Felix snaps his gaze up at Peter at this statement before looking off to the ground guiltily.

"Please be quiet, we're in court." I say, rolling my eyes.

"I'm not your pet, love." Peter says, moving his eyes back to me. Two conflicting dark thoughts pop up in my mind. I suddenly have the urge to either leave him in the prison cell another night or walk down there and kiss him. My fingers start to tap along to the thumping beat of pulses the necklace feeds and I barely notice when the Princess is brought into the room and stood in front of the throne steps. She looks like a scolded child and refuses to look up at her mother. Cordelia has blonde locks, like her mother, but her hair is wavy and long.

"Princess, what happened?" I ask. The girl peeks up at her mother before turning around to glance at the Lost Boy. Zickert looks up at her and Cordelia knots her fingers together.

"We just wanted a couple of hours alone... we were going to come back." She says, looking back up at her mother. Marcella shakes her head and taps her fingers angrily on the chair.

"So you felt safe with these men? They weren't trying to kidnap you?" I ask, leaning back.

"They weren't kidnapping me. The whole thing is just a misunderstanding. Mother, please let Zickert go." Cordelia says. Marcella's lips form a line before she glances at me. I raise an eyebrow and move to my feet.

"Look like that's sorted then. Guards- release the prisoners, Peter wait for me in the foyer. Marcella, can I have a word?" I ask, turning to her. She nods and stands as well.

"Cordelia, go to your chambers and wait for me. Say good bye to your friend, he's leaving." She says. Cordelia makes a squeaky sobbing noise and runs over to Zickert to jump into his arms. He barely has town to catch her after his hands are released from the chains. Marcella rolls her eyes at this display and I glance over to Peter, who stares back at me. We each turn and walk away, Peter to the foyer and me to one of the side halls to be alone with Marcella. I walk into the hallway and instruct the guard on patrol to leave us, he shuts the door behind Marcella after bowing.

"I cannot believe that girl. She knew I wouldn't let him stay so she decided to just run away with him? How am I supposed to leave the aerie to someone so childish?" She says, walking to look out the tall castle window.

"Whatever you plan to do about your rebellious daughter, make sure it's done soon. It's none of my business who you want her to marry but I'm not going to be dragged into another of these tedious misunderstandings. And really, Marcella, Peter and Zickert were just doing what Cordelia wanted- it hardly merited a night in prison." I say, walking to look out the window next to her. She keeps a hand on the stone windowsill as she faces me.

"Your boyfriend didn't just walk out the door with Cordelia willingly in tow, if that's what you think happened... he took out a number of my guards when they tried to apprehend him. He did quite a lot of damage too, a couple of them will need months to recuperate." She says, placing a hand on her hip.

"Really?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe if you kept a closer eye on what he gets up to you would realise how violent he's become. Prince Jakoban thought that Pan had completely transformed from the cold-hearted evil he was before, but maybe not so much has changed after all." She says. I face her again and from the look on my face, Marcella can tell that she's pissing me off. She straightens her posture and flattens the front of her dress.

"Well, anyway... he's no longer my problem. I hope this won't create any other issues in the future." She begins to walk to the door, "I'll see you at our next meeting." I follow her out and we part in the throne room. Cordelia and Zickert have disappeared but Peter is waiting for me in the foyer. I glance around the area for Emmeline, William and Felix but they're nowhere in sight either. Peter looks up upon seeing me.


	21. Chapter 21 - Toxic

**Chapter ****2****1**

I storm up to him and place my hands on my hips.

"You almost ruined things for me today." I say. He raises an eyebrow for a moment, as if trying to understand what I'm talking about.

"Really? That's what you want to talk about first?" He asks, folding his arms.

"You hurt a bunch of Nyx guards, _my _kind. And for what? So one of your friends from your tree-house days can pursue his teenage love? Someone who he'll never end up with anyway, by the way." I snap.

"Why do you and people like Marcella get to determine who falls in love with who? You can't even manage your own relationships." He replies.

"I told you, I was _charming _him. I didn't mean to take it so far. It's not like it meant anything, anyway- I'm pregnant with _your _baby." I fold my arms, two guards walk out through the foyer and we go silent. "Listen, I can't do this here. Can we discuss back at the apartment?" I ask. Peter sighs angrily before looking over at the guards who stop outside the door, they make no effort to hide the fact that they're watching us. He shakes his head in defeat before heading out the door. When I pass through behind him the guards bow, so I nod in return. We walk out to the drive to see Felix standing awkwardly on the pavement.

"Where's Emmeline and William?" I ask. Peter glances at Felix before Felix looks away.

"They left. They said there wasn't enough room in the car for all of us and Emmeline didn't want me in her car." He says. I roll my eyes as a black limousine with tinted windows drives over to us. The valet Veela who took Emmeline's car from us steps out of the driver's seat.

"I'm to take you home, your highness." She says and I sigh.

"Pass on my gratitude to Queen De Gaunt when you return, won't you?" I ask with a polite smile, walking to step into the passenger half of the cab. The woman walks around to open the door for me and Peter and Felix wordlessly slide into the other seats. Once in, I rest my head back, the exhaustion of the day is already getting to me and it's not even dark outside. Peter moves to the seat next to me and Felix tries not to look over at us.

"Is everything going alright?" Peter asks, nodding down to my stomach. I nod my head, leaning back in the seat so I'm comfortable.

"Just fine." I say. Peter hesitantly lifts up his hand and places it over my belly. Part of me wants to place my hand over his but I just can't manage the feeling for it.

"When will it start getting bigger?" Peter asks, looking down at my still flat stomach.

"Not for a couple of months." Felix says, still not looking at us. When he does glance back his eyes meet mine and we pause for a moment. Should we talk about this morning? Should I talk to him at all in front of Peter? This morning I felt so angry and now I just feel regret. The car trip is much shorter on the way back. I lean my head to the side and I instantly fall asleep. I wake up with my head on Peter's shoulder and both men look uncomfortable in their silence. The limousine has come to a stop and from the view outside the window I can tell we're back in the city. The sun has gone down and it's getting dark. We all get out of the car and walk to the pavement. I turn to Felix.

"Will you be staying with us at the apartment tonight?" I ask him. Peter gives me an annoyed look but I ignore him. Felix also looks confused.

"You don't really expect me to let you go home to an empty house, do you?" I ask. Felix considers this before looking over at Peter. Peter looks to the sky in exasperation and closes his eyes. I lean in to speak in low tones.

"He just lost his kid." Peter looks over to Felix and sighs.

"Fine. Come up, you can sleep in the guest bedroom." He says, before turning and walking off towards the hotel. Felix and I follow and we crowd into the living and dining area.

"I guess we should order some room service for dinner then?" I ask, walking over to sit at the table. Felix moves to rest at the breakfast bar and Peter retrieves the food list from one of the kitchen cabinets. He places it in front of me on the dining table before removing his jacket.

"I need to shower. Just order me whatever you're getting." He says, heading for the master bedroom en suite. Felix moves over to join me at the table and, after deciding on dinner, I ring the front desk to place the order. We're left in silence so I open my mouth to speak.

"We should talk about this morning." I say.

"And last night." Felix nods.

"What do you remember?" I ask, tilting my head.

"Not a lot... but I get the gist of it. What I don't understand is where I woke up this morning..." He says, looking over at me. I nod slowly, waiting for his question.

"We didn't...?" He gestures from me to him and I catch on to his meaning.

"No. We didn't sleep together. Well- we did, but not in _that_ way." I say, clasping my hands together. My necklace begins to buzz against my chest.

"Good, I was worried." He shakes his head. I raise an eyebrow. There are so many things I want to say right now so I let one come out.

"I'm not a preying mantis, Felix, I don't behead the people I make love to." I shake my head, my lips curling into a small, unexpected smile.

"Well I always thought it would be memorable with you but that wasn't the reason I had in mind." He manages a small smile as well, looking to the table.

"You've thought about it with me?" I know I shouldn't ask it, but I do anyway. My necklace buzzes with excitement. He widens his eyes slightly.

"I just mean- with a Veela... there's all that attraction they force on you, it must make an impact when you're finally- um... together." He stutters through it.

"Right. Well, sorry for forcing your attraction..." I say, smirking. He leans back on the chair.

"No, that's not what I meant." He says, opening his mouth to speak again. He's cut off, though, when my eyes dart up to Peter who's standing with wet hair and dampening clothes. He has Felix's wine bottle in one hand and his mobile phone in the other. I bite my lip, I forgot how the master bedroom must have looked- an empty wine bottle and ruffled bedsheets don't look good. I move to stand hastily and the chair makes a loud noise on the floor.

"Peter-" I begin, stopping when he talks sternly.

"I just called Laura to see if I could work out a deal for Finn." He pauses, looking over at Felix- who also stands slowly, "But then she told me about your little secret." I expect shame and regret to flood into my head but, surprisingly, all that comes is annoyance and impatience.

"Because we all trust what Laura says." I say, raising an eyebrow.

"This one sounded believable." Peter says, moving his glare from me and back to Felix again. He holds up the empty wine bottle and shows it to Felix.

"Reliving your little shower scene, are you?" He asks. Suddenly the wine bottle is smashed against the marble counter top of the breakfast bar and hundreds of little glass pieces fall to the ground. Peter steps forward, pointing what's left of the bottle at Felix. Felix backs away to the door quickly and Peter's bare feet begin to slowly ooze with blood from the broken glass. I walk over and step between the two. Felix is practically leaning against the apartment door and he looks more shocked than anything. Peter keeps staring at Felix angrily so I cross my arms and clear my throat to get his attention.

"Are you seriously going to go through me to get to him?" I ask. He barely glances at me before looking back at Felix. He does lower the wine bottle to his side though.

"Peter, you don't need to get upset-" Felix begins.

"Don't get upset!? You slept with _my _Lena. When exactly did you forget that you can't claim something that's already been claimed? Or do you need to go back to Neverland and be taught that again?!" He shouts angrily.

"That's enough." I say sternly. I turn around to the door. "Felix, it's time for you to go- there's no reasoning with him when he's like this." I say. Felix nods and moves his eyes back to Peter. He remains defensive and only turns his back on him completely when he's on the other side of the door. Peter's breathing is heavy and when Felix is no longer in his sight he places the half wine-bottle on the counter. I walk over and because I haven't taken my shoes off I'm able to walk on the glass pieces. Peter leans back against the counter in an attempt to calm down as well as reduce the movement he makes on the glass. The jewel thumps against my chest and it's keeping me angry. I walk in front of him and when he looks up at me I grip onto his arm and yank him so he has to step forward to stop himself from falling. His foot slams down on the glass and he winces with pain and confusion.

"I **am not** a wild animal, I am **no one's** to claim." I say it furiously, feeling my eyes go black all over. He looks up at me and for the briefest moment I notice a flicker of fear on his face. I let him go and he slides onto the bar stool to begin picking the glass from his feet. There is a buzz at the door and I walk over to answer it. A woman is wheeling a food cart with our meals and there's bedding stuffed into the compartment underneath.

"Three hot meals here, where would you like them?" She asks. I step aside and allow her to come in. She widens her eyes at the spectacle Peter has caused and she stands straight.

"Oh god. It looks like I'm going to have to send for a cleaner... and a doctor." She says, looking back at me. I curl my lips into a humourless smile and nod, taking the lids off two of the plates of dinner and moving them to the dining table. The woman, still confused and shocked, backs that cart away to the door. Before she leaves I call behind her,

"Anyone with first aid will do, and will you bring me a drink? Your nicest non-alcoholic Martini or something." The woman nods and closes the door behind her. I walk over to sit a the table before picking up my knife and forks and glancing to Peter.

"I think I miss being bowed to." I say. Peter looks up at me, perplexed and I shrug, beginning my meal.

Not long after the staff member leaves, two cleaners and a man with a small surgical kit knock on the door. I open the door and look to each one before I let them in.

"Do one of you have my drink?" I ask. They look at each other with the same confusion as the other woman before I roll my eyes and step aside. They all begin their work, the man helps Peter remove the glass from his feet and sterilises the skin. The cleaners scoop up the glass and mop up the blood before sterilising the floor. The door is still open so the lady from before doesn't bother knocking when she walks in. She hands me my drink and remains interested in Peter's feet.

"Will we need to get him to the hospital?" She asks.

"The cuts aren't deep, he won't need any stitches." The man says as he bandages Peter's feet. Peter grumbles quietly, annoyed that he needs a human to heal him and he can't just use his own powers.

"If you think we should call an ambulance anyway, sir, I can get them here in ten minutes." The woman says, reaching for her phone.

"Oh he's a big boy- he'll heal. Right, honey?" I ask, looking over at Peter. Peter just nods with an annoyed expression and the staff eventually file out to leave us alone. He rocks onto his feet on the marble floor and limps over to the table.

"No, don't bother helping- I'll be fine." He says, pulling out a seat and sliding onto it. He takes his knife and fork and begins to eat.

"Compared to your reaction- mine was completely appropriate." I say, walking over to sit back at the table with him. "You were being dramatic enough for the both of us." I roll my eyes.

"Oh, and since you asked- no. I didn't sleep with Felix. I never have." I say,

"Well maybe not yet, but you would have... if we had have had a fight before I left, if I had said something to piss you off. You would have given yourself to Felix and you would have even convinced him that you were doing it just because you loved him." He says, taking a drink from my virgin Martini. "I think I'm finally beginning to understand this side of you, Lena. You try so hard to hold onto that innocent human persona that you're used to but the truth is that the more you give into your dark side, the more you love it. And Laura didn't just warn me about the fact that you'll never stop loving Felix, she also told me about the necklace... about what you'll become because of it. There's going to be a day when all that's left of you is your dark side and that necklace." He points to it as it dangles on my neck. Part of me dies a little inside because I know what he's saying is true, but by now I'm drunk on the power this neck has been feeding me all night so I give him one of my humourless smiles and lean forward.

"Hmm... and you know what the saddest part about it is?" I ask. I allow the charm to roll off of me and I can see it affect him. By this point he's clearly developed a tolerance for it though because he appears completely lucid as he sits forward in interest. When I continue the voice I hear is mine but each word is being controlled with malice by the power of the jewel, reverberating through me.

"The saddest part is that even when the human part of me that you fell in love with is gone, you'll still be right here by my side. You'll sulk when I blow kisses to the other pretty boys, because all you have left of little Lena Murdoch is memories. And her face then belongs to a queen who you can't fall out of love with. You and me are for good, babe, you're infatuated with the woman who will kiss your best friend in your own bed and cause you pain just to send a message." I pause. "If I wanted you to kiss me right now you would." At this moment I look down to his lips and he looks down to mine. I lean in closer to him and he inhales my scent deeply. I can see part of him doesn't want to but he moves in towards me anyway, brushing his lips against mine. I pull back and continue, "This 'dark side' liked you better when you were evil and you had power. As soon as you get off your high horse and figure out who you are now then we'll talk about marriage." I finish, pushing back from the table and moving to my feet. As I walk away I say good night.

"The guest bed is all made up for you." Peter remains seated, but his eyes follow me carefully.

"What's wrong with us?" He asks, he looks defeated and dishevelled. "Why can't we get this right?" I pause in my tracks to reply, turning around to face him.

"It's because we're toxic, love."


	22. Chapter 22 - The Rose

**Chapter 22**

I open my eyes and the memories flood in. I throw myself from the bed and I'm not sure whether to run to Peter or throw up first. I rush to the bathroom and choose the latter before storming to the guest bedroom. I already know what I want to say and I run it over and over in my head as I walk through the apartment. The journey feels like it's lasting forever. 'Peter, I love you and I always will.' 'I don't know what came over me last night.' 'I'm sorry for what I said, I'm so, so sorry.' 'I only want you, I'm sorry.' To my dismay, behind the door is an untouched bed. I spin back and walk back through the apartment, checking to see if he slept on the couch or if he's already in the kitchen. After checking each room twice I discover that he's nowhere to be found and end up in the master bedroom again. There is a floor length mirror to cover the wardrobe and the woman staring back at me from them looks sleepless and pathetic. My stomach still rumbles queasily and my hair has lost all it's vibrancy. The only colour to be seen is the pink illuminating from my chest. The necklace dances in front of me, taunting me over it's victory last night. I narrow my eyes on it and curl my fingers around the jewel. As if it already knows what I'm thinking, it begins to thump through my chest with power. I squeeze my eyes shut to try and cut my mind off from the euphoric feeling it's giving me. The jewel is desperate to stay close to my heart, and it's not going to lose this fight easily. Suddenly I feel a pain in my palm and when I open my eyes my talons quickly shrink back into my fingertips. Four beads of blood trickle down my wrist but this battle is over. The chain has snapped in the ordeal and the jewel sits in my palm, away from my body. Before I give it another thought I drop the necklace on the floor. I jump to the sound of my phone ringing. It's buried in my jacket from yesterday and when I pick it up I notice Emmeline is calling. I don't have time for her right now. I hit decline and call Peter's number instead. The first time it rings through, and his voice mail picks it up. So I try again, and again, and again while I pull some decent clothes on.

'Please just answer so I can let you know that I love you no matter what. I'm still your human Lena who's a good decent person, just let me tell you that.' I think to myself. Peter never answers his phone so I ignore another call from Emmeline and hurry out the front door of the apartment. I get to the elevator and the doors open to reveal Emmeline and William, standing there mid-conversation. Emmeline is complaining about something and she has her phone pressed to her ear, when they see me they both go wide-eyed.

"I have been trying to call you all morning, where have you been?" She asks as I step into the elevator.

"Trying to reach Peter. Have you seen him?" I ask, pulling on my coat.

"No, but you've got more important things to worry about today-" She begins, but I cut her off.

"It's just that we had a fight last night and I acted like a completely different person. If he just answered his phone I could tell him it was all a mistake." I say, while once again trying to call him. Emmeline grabs my phone from me and shoves it into her bag.

"Lena. You have a meeting with Jadis and Griselda today. Zilocke got through to them and they've agreed to meet. It's very last minute and they've only agreed to do it because they were in the area and they owe Zilocke a favour. We need to go to this meeting now." She stresses each word and I calm down for a moment to process this. I go silent before speaking,

"The meeting is now?" I ask, bewildered.

–

I'm forced into their car and driven to the abandoned complex where we had our first meeting with the other Aerie leaders. On the way Emmeline fills me in that the other leaders have been made aware that this is happening and that they're all counting on me. William drives and Emmeline hastily puts make up on my face, she says that they won't take me seriously if it looks like I've just rolled out of bed. When I try to tell her that that's exactly what happened she shuts me up by applying lipstick. We get to the front door and I take a moment to actually take a breath. I smooth down my coat and square my shoulders. I suddenly feel extremely naked without the Jewel around my neck to comfort me. I walk into the meeting room and Jadis and Griselda are already sat down. They look up at me expectantly when I enter and all words escape me. I resolve to walk over silently and pour myself a glass of water, which someone seems to have prepared for us. Once I have my water I slide into the seat opposite the women at the table. I clear my throat and join my hands. I open my mouth to speak but Griselda takes this opportunity to speak for me.

"Jadis and have discussed it and, while we feel a treaty is the best course of action for our two races to proceed with, we have some problems with the leadership we would be cooperating with." Jadis then immediately follows up,

"Namely the fact that the Elders are still publicly recognised as the High Court and therefore the ultimate deciders of the Veela race, despite there being only three elders left." When she pauses I take this chance to jump in.

"I understand your apprehension but you may have heard that I _was_ selected, by the Elders, to be the next heir and I have come of age now. I've also got also got members of the Tuskan, Archibald, Plutarch, Bellavine and Cirrus Aries all on my side. I don't know how much you've heard but all of those Aeries have very strong qualities. I believe that with our new proposed laws we will win the public's vote unanimously." I say. Jadis and Griselda glance to each other before Jadis speaks next.

"We hear quite a lot actually." She says.

"Including the fact that you've been conspiring with Peter Pan. Is this true, are you and him together?" Griselda adds. I pause and raise an eyebrow.

"While it's true that he and I are involved, I don't see how that makes any difference to this treaty-" I say, cut off when the two women stand up from the table.

"I'm afraid it makes all the difference in this case, Maddalena. You see, when we enter into a partnership, we each reflect our entire coven- or Aerie in your case. And you being the High Queen means that your actions and your allies reflect on your race a whole- you are the person the other leaders chose to elect. We can't possibly suggest a treaty with the Veela to the other coven leaders if you are in charge." Griselda says.

"Or at least while you're still associated with Peter Pan." Jadis says his name with disgust. They turn and begin walking for the door, I quickly move to my feet.

"At least tell me, specifically, what the problem is. Why can't I be associated with Peter?" I ask. The women stop at the door and turn to face me.

"His name is known to us because has done more injustice to our covens than we can even begin to explain." Jadis says.

"That was who he used to be... he's not like that any more." I say.

"People don't ever really change. And even if they seem like a completely new person it doesn't undo all the corruption they've caused. You still have the memories, and the scars." Griselda replies. Jadis flicks her fingers and a business card appears in my coat pocket.

"Before we can discuss a treaty, you need to cut all ties with him. Once you've done that give us a call. We'll be waiting, Queen Flitwick." Jadis adds. The women walk through the doors and I'm left silent and alone. I blink for a moment before rushing out after them in hopes of changing their minds, or at least mentioning Finn. When I move out into the hall, though, I find that they've disappeared.

Emmeline drives me home and I explain to her what happened. After I've told her everything, she goes silent. I appreciate it more now than I ever have because I know inside she's screaming for me to simply break up with Peter and forge the treaty. The fact that she's not speaking just shows that she knows how difficult that would be for me. In the elevator on the way back up to the apartments I promise her that I will consider my course of action from this point, as long as she doesn't mention anything to the other leaders. We part here and I walk to my door, pushing it open slowly.

"Hey there." Peter says. I widen my eyes and shut the door behind me. He's dressed in a suit and he's holding a single rose in his hands. There are unlit candles placed on surfaces all around the apartment. I smile so wide I want to squeal.

"I'm so glad you're here." I say, rushing over to him. I drop my bag and coat on the way and jump into his arms when I reach him. He wraps me up and kisses me long and slowly. When he places me down I consider where to even begin apologising.

"I want to say-" I begin, but I'm cut off when he places a finger to my lips.

"Wait, I have something important to say." He says. There is a look in his eye that I haven't seen in a long time. It's like I can see his excitement for the game, he looks like a completely different man compared to the one he was last night.

"I thought about the things you said last night- for a long time. And when I knew what needed to be done I knew I couldn't just sleep, I had to actually go _do _something about it." He says. I open my mouth to speak but he continues.

"Last night I got in contact with an old warlock friend from centuries ago. We made a deal that I would trade something valuable of mine and in return I would get some power back."

"You did?" I ask, confused. He nods and clicks his fingers. Every one of the candles lights at once as if he just flicked a switch.

"So what did you trade?" I ask.

"Well at the time I was so focused on getting my powers back that I kind of _did_ first and then planned second. I got back here to the apartment this morning to see if I had anything of any value lying around so I could finalise the deal."

"It seems that you must have traded something pretty valuable if you got that much power back." I'm still shocked at the sight of seeing all the candles lit at once.

"It was so valuable that he said he would give me all his power if it meant he could have it." He nods.

"So what was it?" I ask, wide-eyed.

"The Queen's Jewel." He replies. I feel my heart twist and turn like it's been flipped inside out.

"You gave away the jewel? H- Why would you do that?" I stutter.

"So that I could be powerful again and remind you of the man you fell in love with. He's still here, baby." His smile goes dark and I begin to understand why he seems completely different.

"Sweetheart, calm down." He says, I didn't even notice how panicky I had gotten. He has to hold my hands to stop them from shaking. Part of this panic is because I may have just lost the Jewel forever, but another part is scared that I just lost the side of Peter that I love forever. Who will he be now that he has his power back?

"You don't think I actually let him leave with the Jewel do you?" He asks. I look back up at him.

"That actually brings me to the question I want to ask you." He places the rose in my hands and reaches into his pocket. When he does this I hear a faint gasping sound near me. I peer down the hall behind Peter and I'm able to make out the shape of a body lying on the floor. Oh my god... it's Li Gao. Peter tracked down my ex fake fiancé and took all of his power.

"Lena Flitwick." Peter says, moving down to one knee. "Will you marry me?" He asks, opening the small black box in his hands. Sitting in the middle of the plush white cushion is the pink jewel, shining bright, and greeting me like an old friend.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
